(a series of articles about how new musicals come to pass)
Preproduction: the period of time during which work is done on a show prior to the first rehearsal.
Where do the ideas come from? Where do authors, composers and lyricists get their ideas for musicals? Sometimes, as discussed in an earlier article, they are commissioned. In other words, a writer or team is approached by someone or some organization to write a show about or based on a certain subject. (This can be a great thing if the authors have an affinity for the subject matter. It can be a very frustrating and gruelling experience if the authors end up just doing it for the commission but have no real feeling for the subject.)
Most common, is the adaptation of a novel, play , short story, movie or even poetry collections (e.g., Cats, Polly Pen's Goblin Market based on a poem by Christina Rossetti). A property is discovered that the author(s) feels would make a wonderful musical. And so the process begins.
The one thing that authors must be acutely aware of before they begin adapting material is the availability of the rights to the original material -- rights meaning permission to use copyrighted work. There are countless horror stories of authors who have done a substantial amount of writing -- or even finished writing -- only to discover that the rights are unavailable, or are too exorbitant for their means.
If the musical has been commissioned, the rights situation is usually ironed out by the commissioning individual or organization. When Garth Drabinsky got the idea to musicalize E. L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime, he undoubtedly secured the rights before he had the adaptors begin writing. For struggling unknown authors and composers with no well-known producing organization behind them, getting rights to property can be difficult. Track record is often considered, so if the writing team is unknown they may be turned down solely based on their "inexperience." The rights holder may request a sample of what the adaptors believe the musical adaptation may become. Even if they are considered for approval, they may have to come up with thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars (which most struggling writers do not have) to purchase the rights to use the work for a limited amount of time (which they may have a lot of).
Obtaining rights is not impossible, however. Sometimes a letter or phone call directly to the author of the original material can do it. Deals can be struck and if the author of the original is particularly taken with the musical concept, adaptors may suddenly find themselves with another collaborator. Rights to films are usually owned by large studios and can be the hardest or most prohibitively expensive to secure. The difficulty in securing the rights to novels, plays, short stories, and poetry will most often depend on the sentiments of the author or other rights holder. Sometimes material by a deceased author is harder to acquire because their estate controls the rights. They may be following guidelines set up by the deceased author. The estate feels it is their obligation to protect the author and since the author can't be asked his opinion (due to his inability to comment in a timely fashion?) about making a musical of his masterpiece, the estate will often simply refuse to give the rights. (For example, the rights to the work of Dorothy Parker was willed to the NAACP; since they are not really in the business of rights management or copyright dissemination, they tended to simply brush off requests for rights. In many instances, the writers went ahead and used material without permission assuming that they would not be sued. And usually they were right.)
This goes a long way to explain why the most commonly adapted material is that which is in public domain. The point at which copyrighted material enters the public domain has become pretty complex to calculate with the last few revisions to the copyright code, but for a great deal of material written at the beginning of the current century after 75 years the rights become public domain. F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing will be in the public domain very soon and we can expect a slew of musicals based on his work. Why are there so many musical adaptations of Wuthering Heights (1 2), Phantom of the Opera (1 2 3 4 5), and Jane Eyre (1 2)? One of the reasons is the fact that their rights are in the public domain. (I have joked that a certain composer gets his ideas for musicals by reading the titles in the Cliff Notes section of Barnes and Noble.)
Much more rare is the original musical story, a musical written with no adaptation material. One drawback to these original stories is the lack of recognition they have with producers and the public. Many musicals create interest with producers and the public because they are based on material that is familiar. We are all titillated by the idea of a singing Phantom. What will Jane Eyre's big ballads be? How beautiful could Cathy and Heathcliff's duets sound. It's easier for producers to part with the necessary bucks for a musical with tried and true material that resonates with the public.
Of course this has been known to backfire big time when the musical doesn't live up to the material it is adapted from. When audiences come to the theatre thinking that the story and the musical adaptation distorts or destroys a well-known movie or novel, you'll have a big ol' stinky flop on your hands. Remember Ari, based on Leon Uris'The Exodus, orCarrie based on Stephen King's novel?
There are no rules when it comes to what will make a good musical. Almost anything can work, and material that seems so perfect for musicalization can end up being so wrong. One thing is certain: authors of musicals need to be so in love with their idea that they can live with it for ten years or so. It can take that long to get a musical produced.
Here, categorized by source, are some musicals currently running in New York City:
ADAPTATIONS
(Note that "inspired by" and "adapted from"
are very different things. As far as I know, one is not required
to get the rights for inspiration. By the way, Puccini has a very
active estate, most recently in the theatre news when it sued
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber for plagiarize a certain melody.)
Annie, based on the comic strip. Book by Tom
Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin. (There
is a new show in workshop phase called Kudzu based on a
comic strip of the same name -- so comic strips may just be the
way to go.)
Beauty And The Beast, based on the fairy tale of
the same name. (Public domain.) Book by Linda Woolverton, lyrics
by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, music by Alan Menken.
Cats, based on poems by T. S. Elliot. Words by T.
S. Elliot, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Chicago, based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins.
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, lyrics by Fred Ebb, music
by John Kandor.
The Fantastics, suggested by a play, Les Romanesques,
by Edmund Rostand. Book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey
Schmidt.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,
based on plays by Plautus. (Public domain.) Book by Burt Shevelove
and Larry Gelbart, music by Stephen Sondheim
The Green Heart, based on a short story by Jack
Ritchie. Book by Charles Busch, music and lyrics by Rusty Magee.
Jekyll And Hyde, based on a story by Robert Louis
Stevenson. (Public domain.) Book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse,
music by Frank Wildhorn.
The King And I, based on the novel, Anna and
the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. Book and lyrics by Oscar
Hammerstein, music by Richard Rodgers.
Les Miserables, adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,
public domain. Book by Alain Boublil, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer,
music by Claude-Michel Schonberg
Miss Saigon, based on Puccini'sMadame Butterfly.
Lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr., music by Claude-Michel
Schonberg.
Once Upon A Mattress, based on The Princess and
the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson. (Public domain.) Book
by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, lyrics by Marshall
Barer, music by Mary Rodgers.
The Phantom Of The Opera, adaptation of Gaston Leroux's
novel. (Public domain.) Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd
Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Play On, based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
. (Public domain.) Book by Cheryl L. West, featuring songs by
Duke Ellington. (Shakespeare has proved to be a popular collaborator,
e.g. Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story, Two Gentlemen
of Verona, and Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas.)
Rent, inspired by La Boheme, an opera by Puccini.
(Public Domain.) Book, lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson.
Victor/Victoria, adapted from the movie of the same
name. Book by Blake Edwards, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, music
by Henry Mancini. (This collaborative team had no trouble with
rights, seeing as Blake Edwards wrote the movie.)
Violet, based on the short story, The Ugliest
Pilgrim, by Doris Betts. Book and lyrics by Brian Crawley,
music by Jeanine Tesori.
ORIGINAL IDEAS
The Last Sweet Days, book and lyrics by Gretchen Cryer,
music by Nancy Ford.
Steel Pier, book by David Thompson, music and lyrics
by John Kandor and Fred Ebb.
Titanic, book by Peter Stone, music and lyrics by
Maury Yeston.
Originally published at Suite101.com Theatre, 4/4 & 4/15/97
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