I stil can't stand Brantley, however...

[Mister Matt]

Yes. "Word Soup".

[Kad]

As long as it's made by Campbell's.

[massofmen]

well what new original musicals are out there trying to come in?

[newintown]

Bit of a poser isn't it? You only validate original works if you've heard of them, and you only hear about them if they get support and productions.

[My Oh My]

I agree with Kadster, it's the films chosen and not the adaptation of film to stage.

Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Sister Act, what is this? "USA up! All Night"?

God, I miss that show. Rhonda Sheer and Gilbert Gottfried, that weirdo. They introduced me to "Cannibal Women," "Dream a Little Evil," and bad slasher flicks starring unemployed Linda Blair.

[ErinDillyFan]

Because we all know original musicals are always great!

I can't wait for the next "Glory Days", "In My Life", or "Via Galactica"

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

I'm convinced After Eight is Teresa Giudice from RHONJ...

http://realitytvgifs.tumblr.com/post/11527846844

[rjm516]

Really good post, Henrik!

[Borstalboy]

I don't think its all that difficult to get the idea of the energy behind a show. What I mean is, I think its pretty easy to tell when a film-to-musical project was driven out of genuine love, identification, and a spurring of the adaptive imagination and when its not. Even if its a flop like CARRIE or WOMEN ON THE VERGE.

I just can't imagine a creative mind coming out of films like SHREK, GHOST or BRING IT ON saying, "Wow. That really did it for me. And it gave me so many artistic ideas!" I can, however, imagine a producer or entrepreneur doing such a thing, especially after looking at the box office receipts of those films.

Although, maybe in our brand-name, popularity-driven culture, our collective imaginations are eroding, period. I can't remember whether it was Shaiman or Wittman, but supposedly one was asked what their next project was after HAIRSPRAY. He was walking into the Drama Bookshop at the time, saw an elaborate setup for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, pointed at it and said, "That's my next project!" I have no doubt that was the thoughtless genesis of that show, and the results reflected it.

[Mister Matt]

Have you seen Bring It On? I was surprised at the creativity they did put into it. It's not a direct film-to-stage adaptation. The musical was clearly inspired by the film, but it does have its own identity with a new plot and completely redefined characters. To me, it does still need some work, but they are definitely headed in the right direction. I haven't seen Ghost, so I won't comment on that, but there is far more creativity in Bring It On than there was in Shrek.