# It's time for a new literature based musical
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 5, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657 "2004-02-05T13:27:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/1 "2004-02-05T13:27:30Z")
In the spirirt of “Le Mis” and “Phantom” What other works of literature should be brought to the stage?
While you’re at it feel free to suggest a composer, etc. and cast the thing.
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### Author:  [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/2 "2004-02-05T13:59:35Z")
Kind of modern literature, but I’d love to see Frank Wildhorn turn Julia Álvarez’s “In The Time of the Butterflies” into a musical. It’s got the potential to be grand and tragic, with lots of ensemble work as well as starring roles for four Latina women. I have no idea if Salma Hayek can sing, but Daphne Rubin-Vega might be good. She’s got the look, she can sing to hell and gone, and can even manage Spanish if needed, being a Panamanian originally.
I could see Judy Reyes as one of the sisters, too.
And certainly Edward James Olmos has enough Broadway and musical experience to justify reprising his movie role as Trujillo.
(If Wildhorn steals this idea, all I want are front-row seats opening night).
- Rick
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/3 "2004-02-05T14:15:14Z")
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Woman in White” adapted from the Wilke Collins novel, opens in London in September 😃
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/4 "2004-02-05T14:49:31Z")
_Watchmen: The Musical_
sorry, I’ll go now.
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### Author:  [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/5 "2004-02-05T17:57:04Z")
_The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus: A Rock Opera._
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### Author:  [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/6 "2004-02-05T19:37:14Z")
> [@Mephisto](#):
>
> _The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus: A Rock Opera._
[It’s been done](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002MSD/qid=1076009772/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-5106591-3181654). Written by Randy Newman, and stars Don Henley, Linda Ronstant, James Taylor, and Newman himself as Satan.
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### Author:  [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/7 "2004-02-07T19:36:16Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#):
>
> [It’s been done](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002MSD/qid=1076009772/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-5106591-3181654). Written by Randy Newman, and stars Don Henley, Linda Ronstant, James Taylor, and Newman himself as Satan.
I used to own that CD. I thought it was truly awful. Bonnie Raitt’s song was the only one that I thought was any good.
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### Author:  [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/8 "2004-02-07T20:17:07Z")
It’s only a matter of time before _HOBBITS! (a musical based on the works of Tolkien)_ is written, I’m sure. 😃
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### Author:  [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/9 "2004-02-07T21:18:30Z")
[QUOTE=BuckleberryFerry]
It’s only a matter of time before _HOBBITS! (a musical based on the works of Tolkien)_ is written, I’m sure. 😃
[/QUOTE
[Looks like someone’s beaten you to that, too.]
([http://www.thelordoftheringsmusical.com/](http://www.thelordoftheringsmusical.com/)) 😉
Hrm…this might be weird – _Canterbury Tales_ has been done as a musical, I know, but _Troilus and Criseyde_ might be better suited to the form, with the right adapter. I’m thinking Sondheimesque.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/10 "2004-02-07T21:31:03Z")
Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, & Tim Rice bring you their latest Broadway sensation:
_Parcheesi!!!_, featuring the smah hit, “One Afternoon in Des Moines”.
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### Author:  [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/11 "2004-02-07T21:33:57Z")
> [@Katisha](#):
>
> [Looks like someone’s beaten you to that, too.](http://www.thelordoftheringsmusical.com/) 😉
Is it too late for me write _Hobbits on Ice_, then?
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/12 "2004-02-07T21:40:53Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#):
>
> Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, & Tim Rice bring you their latest Broadway sensation:
>
> _Parcheesi!!!_, featuring the smah hit, “One Afternoon in Des Moines”.
:rolleyes:
In honor of the OP I give you a literature-based musical:
_1984: A Musical Comedy_ with music by Elton John.
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### Author:  [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/13 "2004-02-07T23:57:29Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#):
>
> [It’s been done](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002MSD/qid=1076009772/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-5106591-3181654). Written by Randy Newman, and stars Don Henley, Linda Ronstant, James Taylor, and Newman himself as Satan.
Not really – the only thing it actually has in common is the name and the names of some of the characters. Mostly it is a showcase for Randy Newman (oh writer of oscar winning songs for children’s movies) to bitch about God. Talk about a man with issues. An actual adaptation would be pretty cool.
In the Spirit of Les Miz, I offer: Mother Courage – who would write it, no clue.
There was some movie from the late 80’s or early 90’s that had a father auditioning for a role in “Tale of Two Cities” which actually would not be nearly as bad as it sounds.
Also, while I loathe the book , I think it would adapt well: Lovely Bones, by Tim Rice and Elton John. It really is a natural fit.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/14 "2004-02-07T23:58:24Z")
In the tradition of “Joseph” and “Jesus Christ, Superstar”, how about “Leviticus!” or “Revelation!”? … by Tim Rice, of course.
Coming Soon: Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, a musical by Mel Brooks.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/15 "2004-02-08T00:26:34Z")
Hunchback of Notre Dame…it would have to be called “Hunch!”
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### Author:  [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/16 "2004-02-08T07:12:49Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#):
>
> Hunchback of Notre Dame…it would have to be called “Hunch!”
wasn’t that on an ep of THE CRITIC? _G_
I read in a legit biography about Aldous Huxley that he actually wanted a Busby Berkeley style musical version of BRAVE NEW WORLD done. I’d have loved to have seen that!
DRACULA
FRANKENSTEIN
ATLAS SHRUGGED _G_
(Sting as John Galt)
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/17 "2004-02-08T09:02:47Z")
Supposedly Elton John is musicalizing “The Vampire Lestat”, though I thought AIDA was awful (though how it compared to such literary adaptation’s as Yul Brynner’s _Home Sweet Homer_ (a musical comedy based on The Odyssey\* that flopped like a catfish on hot concrete) and _Stephen King’s Carrie_ (used to be the biggest flop in B’way history, though such recent travesties as _Taboo_ may have surpassed it) I don’t know. (By the way, for info on any of these titles check out [ibdb.com](http://ibdb.com) ; I’m having problems hyperlinking tonight.)
There was a musical version of _Confederacy of Dunces_ some years back (performed only in New Orleans, IIRC) though I understand it wasn’t great. In the hands of really gifted folk (Shaiman & Wittman if you wanted it light) I think it could really fly.
While very recent, I think that _Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe_ has great musical potential. So much of the book wasn’t used in the movie that, like _Ragtime_, it could supply both a good movie and a great play that don’t overlap much.
Much older literature that could furnish musical turns:
_Tristan & Isolde_ (a musical as opposed to an opera)
_Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven_ by Mark Twain
_The Loved One_ by Evelyn Waugh
_The Divine Comedy_ (in three acts of course)
_A Tale of Two Cities_ (It couldn’t be worse than Scarlet Pimpernel)
_Comprachico Tell Me What’s Wrong…_, a musical version of Victor Hugo’s “Man Who Smiled” composed by ABBA
\*Strange but true: Golden Girl Rue MacLanahan adapted Oedipus Rex as a tapdance musical entitled (I kid you not) _Oedipus Smedipus, As Long as you love your Mama_; it tanked.
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/18 "2004-02-08T09:23:10Z")
How about a tough-talking opera based on a Jim Thompson novel? _The Grifters_ would be great! Lyrics by David Mamet, music by Danny Elfman.
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### Author:  [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/19 "2004-02-12T01:30:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Sampiro_
> …
> **_Stephen King’s Carrie_ (used to be the biggest flop in B’way history, though such recent travesties as _Taboo_ may have surpassed it) I don’t know.**
> …
I use to have a Betty Buckley CD on which she sang a song from _Carrie_ called “When There’s No One”. It’s an absolutely beautiful song that Carrie’s mother (played by Buckley in the musical) sings while waiting for Carrie to come home from the prom. I’ve never heard any of the other music from the show, but if the rest of it was as good as that song, it’s a mystery to me why the show flopped. Maybe the idea of a Stephen King musical was just too bizarre.
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### Author:  [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-a-new-literature-based-musical/227657/20 "2004-02-12T01:38:47Z")
I am more an opera fan than a fan of musicals (althought there a quite a few I like), but how about something like **Anna Karenina**
On the proviso that ALW is allowed nowhere near it
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