Although Cool and Krupke are reversed and I Feel Pretty comes before the rumble, the rest of West Side Story hews almost identically to the stage show.
My Fair Lady is the first movie that came to mind. In terms of the actual text there's only a few minor changes and only one song was moved. None of the songs were cut as is often the case these days.
Jesus Christ Superstar is also pretty close, again, just in terms of the text. There's only one new song added for the film version. Evita is also pretty similar with only a few cuts and additions to the score.
The Bette Midler Gypsy is also a pretty faithful adaptation. I think there's only one reprise that was cut? The rest of the songs are there. I'm not too sure if the book is completely intact.
The only thing I remember being cut from the Bette Midler Gypsy was the "Some People" reprise/transition that on-stage is basically an in-one scene to cover the scene shift from the house in Seattle to the theatre where Herbie is introduced. Otherwise it seems to be word for word the stage script.
Which song was moved in My Fair Lady? I did the show so long ago, and don't really watch the movie all that often, so I can't think off the top of my head which one it was.
Cabaret is a very different movie compared to the original stage script, though I love them both for what they are, and of course there are now several versions of the stage script to pick and choose from.
Sound of Music made a decent number of changes, and for me works so much better as a movie than as a stage musical.
^In the My Fair Lady movie they moved "With A Little Bit of Luck" after "I'm an Ordinary Man" instead of before it like it is in the stage script. I guess it was just to break up the opening a bit so there was an interior scene in Higgin's study to break up the exterior Covent Garden scenes. That's the only reason I can think of for the change.
I actually thought "Suppertime" was a little creepier in the stage version, but it's not a huge difference. Love stage ending. I thought "Mean, Green Mother" was a weird song, and not in a good way.
The Music Man is completely faithful, with the exception of My White Knight changing to Being in Love, a change I very much like. Otherwise, it's pretty much exact.
If you get the Pioneer laser disc version of "1776," it's pretty much exactly the stage show with no cuts. The current "director's cut" out on DVD has most of the show, with some minor but noticeable cuts in dialogue, plus the second verse of "Piddle, Twiddle."
But everything is on the laser disc release.
I agree about Music Man and My Fair Lady being very close.
Cabaret is about as far away as you can get and still be successful, unless you count Fanny, which is a delightful film that cut ALL of the songs and used them as underscoring.
With all the recent reports of remakes of classic movie musicals, I got to wondering why they feel the need to re-do those that are near perfection (My Fair Lady, Little Shop of Horrors) but don't consider the worst movie version ever made: A Chorus Line!!
I admit that the material is no longer cinema material but it would be a great made-for-TV piece to tackle. The film version was a travesty that had me twitching at the end.
In response to the question at hand, James Whale's 1936 film version of Show Boat is pretty much word-for-word, song by song faithful to the stage version with the exception of the very ending and, of course, it doesn't contain every single song like most productions but features the best ones. I have the whole thing uploaded and posted here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9EF1906CE5582EEB&feature=plcp
Don't even get me started on the asstastic 1950's remake.
Funny Girl? They cut half the score and replaced it with real Brice tunes.
I agree, My Oh My. Why redo the successful ones? You're only going to lose out by comparison. I pity any actress today who plays Audrey in a Little Shop remake. You're already going to lose before the camera even rolls.
As for bad or disappointing movie musicals that deserve a stellar remake:
Brigadoon Guys and Dolls Carousel The Wiz South Pacific Nine (too soon?) Mame
But no ... they'll all want to do Grease or The Sound of Music or Little Shop or Rocky Horror or My Fair Lady. Good luck with that.
"Mame" wasn't particularly good but it was relatively faithful. They only dropped "That's How Young I Feel", which I understand was written for a stage wait (but I like the song) and added "Loving You" for Robert Preston. They also added some shtick for Lucille Ball but her casting is another matter entirely.
"Nine" dropped 2/3 of the score and added a couple of hootchie-kootch...I mean dance numbers for the actress/stars so that wasn't very faithful (or very good).
"Carousel" was a bit of a hybrid, I'd say. They retained much of the score and did it quite nicely but switched around some of song order and added the framing device of heaven at the beginning of the film. I do think it's a decent though uninspired version of the show, but I've enjoyed every version I've seen onstage over the years more.
That framing device of the star catcher in Carousel is horrendous. It makes the entire story a flashback where you already know exactly what happens to Billy. What a lousy idea! It lessens the impact of the entire film. ("It's a Wonderful Life" it ain't. Besides, in that story you don't know if Clarence the Angel gets there in time to save George Bailey. In Carousel, you already know Billy dies ... and is apparently relegated to hanging paper mache stars covered in glitter for "Carrie's" prom scene for all of eternity.) The casting was bad, the direction uninspired, and even the singing was by-the-numbers. I can't think of a single thing I like about the movie. Not one.
Do over!
EDIT: By the way, my response above was to the poster talking about disappointing or bad movie versions, not how faithful or unfaithful they were (which is what the OP asked for, and I answered already).
Best12, another very important change in the otherwise very faithful 1776. From wikipedia:
"The song "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" depicts Revolutionary War–era conservatives as power-hungry wheedlers focused on maintaining wealth. According to Jack L. Warner, the film's producer and a friend of U.S. President Richard Nixon, Nixon pressured him to cut the song from the 1972 film version of the show, which Warner did. Nixon apparently saw the song as an insult to the conservatives of his time. Warner also wanted the original negative of the song shredded, but the film's editor secretly kept it intact. It was only decades later that the song was restored to the film.[4] [edit]"
Thank goodness the song has been restored. It is more topical now than it was when the movie was released, or any time since!
I don't think there's any standard answer. It has to work in its own medium in order to be successful.
And whether that means remaining faithful to the stage show or making massive changes isn't (all that) worrisome to me. But if they make a bunch of changes and the movie sucks, you have to wonder why they changed it.
For every Cabaret, Babes In Arms, On the Town, or Fanny, which departed greatly from their stage shows, there are dozens of others who did so and failed miserably (The Wiz, Annie, Anything Goes, A Chorus Line, Brigadoon, etc.).
And for every Music Man or My Fair Lady, there are faithful adaptations that were terrible (Mame, Phantom of the Opera, etc.).
There's no absolute rule about what will or won't work. But a lot of it has to do with solid creative vision and casting. Without them, you're pretty much dead, regardless of how you adapt (to or from) the source.
Best12, another very important change in the otherwise very faithful 1776.
Oh, I'm aware of it. "1776" was the first big "professional" stage show I ever saw (at the age of eight). When the movie came out two years later, I knew the number had been cut, and I was ten years old. It was written up at the time as to why. Many critics pointed it out.
I was referring to the recent DVD and laser discs (and you can throw in the TV airings now), all of which contain the number and use the latest "director's cut" now. It's the only way you can see the movie, so Jack Warner finally wins out and doesn't have to piss off a presidential administration. But even the director's cut isn't complete (or entirely faithful). There's still about five minutes missing that were filmed, all of which were on the laser disc. If you have a copy of it, you do have the entire Broadway production. Every line spoken and word sung. It's all there.
Sweeney Todd was the most disappointing movie adaption of a musical for me. Not only did it cut some of the best numbers ( the Beggar Woman's solicitation of Anthony, Ah, Miss, Kiss Me, all the choral singing, and most importantly The Ballad of Sweeney Todd), cast non-singers, focus on the gore more than the story, and put the actors in ridiculous make up and costumes; it spawned the horrible fandom known as "Sweenett". Shudder.
Pardon me for changing the course of the thread a bit. I would start a new one but I don't want to be accused of seeking attention. How bout cases where the movie adaptation was actually better than the original stage version? This doesn't happen too often but I feel that Chicago the film has surpassed Chicago the musical as a whole. I do love the stage version but I feel the film enhanced and made it into something even better. I also enjoyed the film version of Hairspray more than the stage version. These are the only two cases where I feel the movie was better. Most of the time the film doesn't even hold a candle to the stage versions. The worst movie adaptations in my opinion are Rent, Nine, The Producers, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia. These adaptations actually ruined what were once great satge musicals.
As someone mentioned, LI'L ABNER keeps pretty close to the wonderful stage version. What is especially important about the film is that it includes most of the Michael Kidd choreography, restored by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood who were actually in the original production. The lengthy Sadie Hawkins Day Ballet is included in the film, incidentally.
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joined:4/10/11
Posted: 5/4/12 at 11:03pm