Little women

This morning I realized that most of my favorite musicals are adaptations of classic literature — Jane Eyre, Secret Garden, Les Mis, The Sound of Music, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Wicked, Jekyll and Hyde, and Phantom of the Opera, for example. I’d never looked at it that way before. I wonder if the literary connections are one of the reasons why I like these musicals so much…

Speaking of adaptations, I went to see the musical Little Women last night. Emotionally fulfilling, yes, but not exactly the epitome of craft, either. The music was…well, it was okay, I guess, but it could’ve been so much better. (And I’m talking about the music itself, not the performance, which was fine.) Not very memorable. There were a few places where it got cool, but that may have been just because it was loud. :)

As for the story, it was so soft that it teetered on the edge of being corny, but I oddly didn’t mind in the least — it wasn’t bad corny, at least not for me. (I’m sure there are at least half a dozen of you who would have found it intolerable, though. :)) Little Women is about family and the love therein, and you can definitely feel it. (Part of me wonders how much came out of the musical itself, though, and how much I brought in with me already loving the story; was I overlaying my previous Little Women experiences on top of the show? I don’t know.) If you had to boil it down to one word, I think it would be home. And that’s a very good thing. (Even if not everyone’s home is like that, I should add — we can’t let dysfunction destroy ideals.)

So, in a nutshell, I liked the show in spite of its imperfections, and I felt that my two and a half hours had been well-spent. And now I’m wondering what literary works out there haven’t yet been adapted and thus are fair game for me to use in writing my musical. ;)

P.S. I seem to be rather parentheses-happy today. Not sure why. I’m really tired, though, but there’s no time to take a nap. ~sigh~

In defense of the show (as written), BYU made some changes to the script that I think made their production of it unnecessarily cheesy. I mean, the show is cheesy enough. It’s what happens when you have a show about women, really. There’s lots of hugging. (Not that it’s bad, just - you have to expect a certain amount of Relief Society-ness).

I agree though. It’s a fun show with lots of merit, but others are better. As far as I’m concerned the best adaptation is The Secret Garden. I like Wicked a lot too, but if you’re looking for a musical that follows the plot of the book, that one isn’t for you. Wicked the book and Wicked the musical are two separate things. Thank heaven. I thought the book was un-necessarily racy.

You’ve got a good point on the cheesiness. Being a man, I feel like I have an obligation to be bored out of my mind with shows like that, but (guys, please don’t kill me) I find that they have a nice, soft spot in my heart. I crave it, even. Maybe that just translates to my need/desire for a wife, I don’t know.

Anyway, to move to safer territory, The Secret Garden is top-notch, by far one of my favorite musicals of all time. Mmm. And while I haven’t seen Wicked the musical (I’ve only listened to the music), I did read the first few pages of Wicked the book, and I completely agree. The book was too racy for me. Which was a pity, since I really like fairy tale adaptations, and I was looking forward to reading the rest of Maguire’s books. But now I just have a sour taste in my mouth, and I doubt I’ll try to read anything else he’s written.