Yet another Movie-Musical…. March 30, 2008

I’ve been writing in this blog about my theory of how Broadway has had a trend of taking movies and turning them into musicals.

Tonight I have found another one being created, thanks to Playbill.

This may not be one you may automatically think of either: the 1983 movie “A Christmas Story.”

I really wasn’t expecting to find this on Playbill tonight of all movies.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is a great movie. If you don’t remember what it’s about, Playbill describes the movie’s synopsis well:

“A Christmas Story is a whimsical, slightly-twisted and beloved tribute to an all-American, nostalgic view of Christmastime. Set in Indiana during the 1940s, a young Ralphie dreams of his ideal gift for Christmas and is waging an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents. Ralphie mounts a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign. He also endures all kids of childhood calamities from his brother’s snowsuit paralysis to the yellow-eyed Scotty Farkus affair to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole stunt. A triple-dog-dare Christmas classic for the American stage.”

The one thing I remember about this movie is the flagpole stunt. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to get your tongue stuck to a pole like that. I’ve certainly gotten my tongue stuck to a freshly made ice cube several times…and that’s NOT FUN. It hurts when it gets ripped off, as I’m sure it hurt for Ralphie.

I bet this would make a wonderful musical. I could see Ralphie’s quest for his Christmas gift being extended into a two act musical. And I could see a TON of more comic stunts being added to make the play even funnier than the original movie!

However, this play does go along with my theory. There is a lack of creativity on Broadway, and this again proves it, and it brings the utmost question at hand: So, what movie’s next?!

Bloggers: What movie do you think will be turned into a musical next?

The musical will be produced by Gerald Goehring and Douglas C. Evans…who were the minds behind Off-Broadway’s latest production of Frankenstein.

The producers told Playbill.com that they want to get the musical running as early as 2008’s holiday season.

The lyricist, librettist and composer haven’t been announced yet…But will be soon.

An interesting fact I found through the Playbill article: apparently “A Christmas Story” actually does exist as a non-musical stage play…So maybe you bloggers out there may or may not have seen this as a play already! If you did…what did you think of it?

If you want to see more information about the play, visit their website!

And for all you fans of the movie (and for those looking to see more of what this movie’s about), here’s the famous tongue-sticking-to-the-pole-scene:

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(Pictures courtesy of questexperiences.com, playbill.com)