Rosemary's Baby as a play

[RW3]

Would Rosemary's Baby work as a play on Broadway or would it be too dark? I think Patina Miller could make a good Rosemary if the producers went a color-blind casting rout and it would give her a chance to show off her acting chops not just her singing abilities.

[TheatreDiva90016]

It should be set in a circus.

[henrikegerman]

I tend to think it would be challenging to make into a successful play. Not because the material is too dark but because the movie is not only perfect but an almost exact replica of a near perfect - and very cinematic - novel. Bringing it to life on stage would most likely mean screwing with perfection in order to find a workable, but likely second rate, dramatic structure.

[Borstalboy]

No.

And stop giving the likes of Terry Johnson and Trevor Nunn any ideas.

[mamaleh]

A black Rosemary is already on the way, at least in film: Zoe Saldana is reportedly doing the movie remake.

[BrodyFosse123]

Well, yesterday Zoe Saldana was officially confirmed to be starring in the highly anticipated NBC TV mini-series adaptation, which is based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel ROSEMARY'S BABY and not the classic 1968 Roman Polanski film adaptation.

http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbc-miniseries-rosemarys-baby-1201037801/

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

The original movie is virtually identical to the book.

[Demitri2]

You ask: "Would Rosemary's Baby work as a play on Broadway or would it be too dark?"

Well if producers didn't feel the link to the show below wasn't too dark for audiences then why not "Rosemary's Baby"? Needless to say, even with a few names in the cast, producers quickly realized Broadway audiences were probably no more interested in seeing the theatre adaptation of this film classic as audiences in Los Angeles were. Plus when a movie is near perfect I'm afraid we might get another "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

http://geffenplayhouse.com/show_cast.php?show_id=137

[goldenboy]

Hey why stoop there! Make it a musical. They made Rebecca a musical.

[missthemountains]

There's also Roberto Agguire-Sacasa's "The Ten Minute Play About Rosemary's Baby" in his collection "The Weird". Unfortunately I know all too well that the Ira Levin estate is very protective of their work. I think the material is ripe for the stage, it's very minimal yet very suspenseful. And after all, Ira Levin was a playwright...
Been done, but probably not in the way you were envisioning...

[Comden Green]

nope. better to leave a classic alone. and how can a play be made suspenseful when we all know the movie? no suspense. the only reason to rewatch the film is for the setting, the mood, the acting, not the suspense. (and those are all wonderful and sufficient. I did watch RB just last week. wonderful) broadway shows are the same. we don't watch them to see what happens. we are there for the experience, the acting, the music. a "surprise" ending is no help in "selling" a play.

I think I'm right here but am afraid that the wonderful minds on here can come up with alternate theories. that's ok. change my mind.

[Owen22]

EASILY be made into a play. Possibly even a one set drawing room play as a matter of fact. I'm actually surprised, with some of its outsized characters, it hasn't been done before. A much easier adaptation than "The Exorcist" or "The Graduate".

[Matt Rogers]

Missthemountains is correct. There is probably no way the Levin sons who run the Estate would ever allow it.

[henrikegerman]

An environmental Rosemary's Baby in one of those kinds of apt. buildings might work.

[gleek4114]

Just watched this movie for the first time recently, and I can't help but shake how wondeful this could be as a straight play with the right script and director. My dream cast would be:

Annaleigh Ashford as Rosemary
Jake Gyllenhaal as Guy
Andrea Martin, Jackie Hoffman, or Mia Farrow as Minnie
Kelsey Grammer as Roman

[Synecdoche2]

love a good reminder why fans shouldn't cast plays!

[TotallyEffed]

.

[BrodyFosse123]

This definitely can easily work as a play.  Keeping a minimal stylistic staging would still produce the same power as the film in a gorgeous theatrical interpretation. 

Several years ago I saw a 6-person stage adaptation of the film/novel of TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (with Molly Ringwald as Aurora) and it worked incredibly.  3 separate stage sets on stage at all times simply created the setting for scenes when needed.  Knowing the film well and watching this all unfold on stage was sheer theatrical magic.  I loved it. 

[greensgreens]

I always wanted Bette Midler and Steve Martin to play the neighbor couple. They would be fascinating to watch as they evolve through the plot.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

greensgreens said: "I always wanted Bette Midler and Steve Martin to play the neighbor couple. They would be fascinating to watch as they evolve through the plot."

I was feeling iffy about a stage adaptation of this until I read this post and I'm completely sold now.

[QueenAlice]

It could potentially work as a play but firstly - I think the piece is very of its time. Like the Exorcist and the Omen, the late 60s and early 70s were essentially the time everyone's Catholic guilt and long seeded fear of the devil came boiling to the collective surface.  Not so much the times we live in now.

 

But secondly, I think the kind of paranoia the central character experiences wouldn't lend itself to a kind of living room drama. I'm sure somebody like Ivo Van Hove could do something with it that would be thrilling, but I'd hate to see adapted like THE EXORCIST was for the stage, which made the source material seem dated and silly.

[gleek4114]

Some aspects are indeed dated, but I feel the sum of its parts are actually very relevant in today's political climate. One of the story's main focuses is how our tragic heroine isn't in control of her circumstances and more importantly what's happening with her body. With reproductive rights being threatened as of late, I could see that aspect of this story striking a chord with a lot of people.