I’ve written about adaptations a bunch of times on this blog, including this entry which detailed the rise of movie-based musicals over the past 30 years (from 6% to 19% of new musicals).

And, more recently I was asked by a NY Post reporter if I was focusing on movie catalogs to find future source material, to which I responded:

I look for source material that will make a great musical and I don’t care if it’s from a book, a  movie, or a postcard!

If you’re looking for a much more thorough analysis and opinion of the above, check out this awesome blog by Howard Sherman, former Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing.  In it, Howard examines . . . ummm . . . in it, Howard talks about movies like . . . uh, and when he talks about A Chorus Line, he . . .

Oh, forget it, there’s no need to summarize or paraphrase what he said, because he said it best himself with quotes like this:

About musicals from movies:

. . .  there’s absolutely nothing wrong with musicals based on movies. When it is done with enough craft, with care and talent, no one begrudges a show its origins, although there is a tendency to now judge the source even before the show is produced.

About the often-cursed-about jukebox musical:

. . . while I think we need original scores lest the craft of musical theatre songwriting be lost, there have been terrifically entertaining and creative shows based on music cobbled together from other sources, whether it be earlier musicals, pop radio or a songwriter’s catalogue. Again, the only question is whether it’s done artfully.

Read the complete article here.  And thanks, Howard, for caring enough to write the very best.

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