Hwang, Etc. Set for NYMF Seminar on Musical Adaptation

As part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's series of education seminars, "Crossing Over: Adapting Musicals from Other Media" will be presented on Thursday, September 21, 6:00-7:30pm, at New World Stages.

The seminar will be hosted Jack Viertel, Creative Director of Jujamcyn Theaters, who has a long list of Broadway credits among his many accomplishments.  "This seminar looks at what it takes to create a hit show from a novel, film or other source material," according to NYMF notes.

"What do Spamalot!, The Color Purple, The Wedding Singer, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hairspray, The Producers and a long list of recent Broadway musicals have in common? They were all adapated from other media. Films, novels, even television shows have become an increasingly desirable source for new material, but it takes more than a good idea to create a successful adaptation. How do you condense a novel that spans decades into a two-hour musical? What does it take to translate a film, which can travel to any location, to the confines of a Broadway stage? What are the copyright and other legal issues involved? This panel brings together a group of writers who have successfully managed the transition to discuss the how, why and when to adapt."

Current panelists include Composer Paul Scott Goodman (Bright Lights Big City); producer Margo Lion (The Wedding Singer, Caroline or Change, Hairspray); writer David Henry Hwang (Tarzan, M. Butterfly, The Golden Child), producer Kevin McCollum (The Drowsy Chaperone, Avenue Q, La Bohème, Rent), and director Susan Schulman (Sweeney Todd, The Secret Garden, The Sound of Music). 

New World Stages can be entered at 49th St., between 8th and 9th Avenues.  The seminar is free, although members are welcome to reserve ahead of time.

To more information, visit this link.