Super Mario the Musical

[cameron iacobucci]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 12:12pm

I am making a musical about Mario,so far the plot is that Bowser Junior wants to be a plumber, but it turns out he was tricking everyone to flood the mushroom kingdom unless Princess Peach gives herself up.

would you want to see this show? why or why not? and what could i fix?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 12:14pm

Sounds great. Should be on broadway next year IMHO

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 12:54pm

cameron iacobucci said: "I am making a musical about Mario,so far the plot is that Bowser Junior wants to be a plumber, but it turns out he was tricking everyone to flood the mushroom kingdom unless Princess Peach gives herself up.

would you want to see this show? why or why not? and what could i fix?"

The first thing you might want to fix is actually getting the rights?  

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 1:13pm

I mean obviously you should see if you could secure the rights to the franchise and the rights to the Koji Kondo and co. score. However, you obviously still want to work on this pet project. I would actually be interested in seeing a Mario themed musical because I'm a huge fan of the Mario franchise. I think it could take the tone of the Paper Mario/Super Mario RPG games as it has a much more self-referential and self-deprecating to it that is a hit with American audiences then have it shift to a more serious tone where the stakes are high.

Be warned though, you're going to get a lot of dismissive posts just because you want to turn a big franchise...and a video game franchise...into a musical.

[kaykordeath]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 1:59pm

cameron iacobucci said: "I am making a musical about Mario,so far the plot is that Bowser Junior wants to be a plumber, but it turns out he was tricking everyone to flood the mushroom kingdom unless Princess Peach gives herself up.

would you want to see this show? why or why not? and what could i fix?"

 

I think that sounds like a lot of fun and I hope you have an awesome time working on it!

 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 2:13pm

Cameron this might interest you. In 2000 Nintendo commissioned a musical based on the Pokemon franchise called Pokemon Live! It went on a national tour and featured future Broadway star Andrew Rannells as James of Team Rocket. 

In 2016 GameInformer hosted an interview with the show's writer; Michael Slade. He has some insights into the process of working with Nintendo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WE5RAG68UI 

Andrew Rannells discusses his experience with the show briefly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnw0BXKk8Ow

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/9/18 at 2:43pm

Personally, I would not be interested, but that's me.   Doesn't mean they won't be lots that are.  Quality is quality.  If YOU find it the right project, go for it!  

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 7:34pm

If there was to be Super Mario Musical, I wouldn’t mind the following casting:

Brandon Uranowitz as Mario
Charlie Stemp as Luigi
Betsy Wolfe as Peach
Patrick Page as Bowser
Ariana DeBose as Daisy
Sarah Stiles as Toad
Mike Faist as Yoshi
Alex Brightman as Wario
Gabriel Ebert as Waluigi
Timothy Hughes as Donkey Kong

I say this knowing that almost all of them would never agree to do this show. Also, if a Mario Musical does indeed happen, then it should be directed by Tina Landau. If there’s one director who can make it work, it’s her.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 7:35pm

If there was to be Super Mario Musical, I wouldn’t mind the following casting:

Brandon Uranowitz as Mario
Charlie Stemp as Luigi
Betsy Wolfe as Peach
Patrick Page as Bowser
Ariana DeBose as Daisy
Sarah Stiles as Toad
Mike Faist as Yoshi
Alex Brightman as Wario
Gabriel Ebert as Waluigi
Timothy Hughes as Donkey Kong

I say this knowing that almost all of them would never agree to do this show. Also, if a Mario Musical does indeed happen, then it should be directed by Tina Landau. If there’s one director who can make it work, it’s her.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 7:56pm

I clicked on this thread because I was so excited thinking it was happening. lol

That said...

Danny Burstein as Mario
John Cariani as Luigi
Katie Rose Clarke as Princess Peach

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 8:04pm

veronicamae said: "I clicked on this thread because I was so excited thinking it was happening. lol

That said...

Danny Burstein as Mario
John Cariani as Luigi
Katie Rose Clarke as Princess Peach"

I actually considered John Cariani for Luigi, but I wanted to go with younger performers for the two brothers

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 8:58pm

Since it's likely never going to happen, I'll share this: I spent about two years trying to chase down SOMEBODY at Nintendo to discuss pitching this very project, after my show did very well at NYMF. It felt like the right time, with Pokemon Go trending as big as it did, and quirky family shows like "Spongebob" and "Peter and the Starcatcher" showing innovative ways of staging impossible things.

The central points of my pitch were these:

1. An original, splashy Broadway score utilizing elements of Koji Kondo's (and Kazumi Totaka's) legendary jazz melodies and motifs.

2. Fun for the whole family, not just a kid's show.

3. Since the early, classic Mario games drew heavily on stage and vaudeville culture for their settings and tropes, we'd return to that feel and not worry about a big, "epic" storyline getting in the way. Something like: After years of saving the princess, defending multiple dimensions, thwarting coups and doing way too much go-kart racing, Mario decides it's time to revisit his one true love... plumbing. He leaves timid second-banana brother Luigi in charge and goes off to do some heavy pipe-fitting like old times. But life is never easy for a hero- when Bowser launches another dastardly plot, Luigi must overcome his wishy-washy nature and hero up, while Mario finds it increasingly hard to ignore the call to heroism.

4. Drawing on that vaudeville connection above, the characterization of the Mario/Wario brothers would be inspired both by their thinly-sketched in-game selves, and by the four Marx Brothers: Mario the earthy, enthusiastic Chico type; Luigi the romantic, imaginative and somewhat effeminate Zeppo type; Wario the crass, shifty wise guy Groucho type; and Waluigi the scene-stealing, mostly-mute anarchist Harpo type. As a nod to audience expectations, Mario will keep his Italian accent, while Luigi will take the soft New York accent from every other portrayal of the characters. Mix in Peach as her usual "speak softly and outthink everyone else in the room" self, and Daisy as Luigi's more aggressive second-banana counterpart, and you've got a great commedia style ensemble cast.

[copskid949]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 9:03pm

You know what? I’ve spent about a year now thinking about how Portal could be a great musical. I think it’s about time we see a video game get the Broadway treatment. I don’t know where your project will go. I don’t know if it’s gonna be a non-profit fan work, a for-profit parody, or even an official thing. What I do know is that you or anyone else looking to do the same thing has my full support.

[Sampatches]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 9:21pm

There was a really fun parody musical at NYMF a few years ago called Claudio Quest. Ethan Slater played the “Luigi” part

[Andres_Zayas]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 10:45pm

My Dream Cast:

Mario: Greg Hildreth or Alex Brightman
Luigi: Taylor Trensch
Princess Peach: Taylor Louderman
Princess Daisy: Isabelle McCalla
Toad: Hudson Loverro
Toadette: Audrey Bennett
Yoshi: Kimiko Glenn
Birdo: Peppermint
Wario: Brian Ray Norris
Waluigi: Roger Bart
Bowser: Daniel Stewart Sherman or Phillip Boykin
Rosalina: Alyssa Fox
Pauline: Krysta Rodriguez
Toadsworth: Peter Bartlett
Professor E. Gadd: Joel Grey

My Dream Creative Team:

Director: Casey Nicholaw or Tina Landau
Book: Kyle Jarrow
Score: Some composers that came to mind were Jeanine Tesori, Koji Kondo, Alan Menken and David Yazbek
Choreography: Casey Nicholaw or Christopher Gattelli
Sets: Derek McLane or David Zinn
Costumes: Gregg Barnes or David Zinn

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/7/19 at 11:21pm

I also agree, I would fully support you doing this this work. It certainly wouldn’t be easy, but there’s honestly a lot potential in this beloved world, and you show some pretty solid ideas in your post. Who knows, maybe a Mario musical will actually happen. Detective Pikachu could serve as an indication that Nintendo seems to be getting a little more lenient with their games being adapted nowadays. Of course they’ll still probably be a bit careful when it comes to Mario. After the mess that was the live action movie, Nintendo will likely try to make sure that Mario’s next mainstream adaptation is quality product that’s more faithful to the series. I don’t know how good a musical of this series would be, but if Spongebob can be a fantastic show, then I think this has some strong potential too. Anyway, I’m curious. Did you take any inspiration from Book of Mormon for your concept? Cause I can see a real similarity there. Mario being like Elder Price, the supposed hero of the story who goes through an arc of finding himself and returning to his duty, while Luigi’s story is one of the sidekick (Elder Cunningham) who needs to put aside his insecurities and save the day. I like that your story makes it sound like Luigi’s a co-lead. I didn’t have any actual idea what the plot would or should be, but I figured Mario would be the primary lead, Luigi the secondary lead, Peach the tertiary lead, and Bowser the biggest supporting role.

Also, in my mind, the voice types for the roles would be:

Mario: High baritone/low tenor
Luigi: Tenor
Peach: Soprano (With a belt)
Bowser: Bass (could potentially be a bass-baritone or a basso profundo)
Daisy: Mezzo-soprano (definitely a huge belter)
Toad: Mezzo-soprano (It made perfect sense to me that Toad should be played by a woman. His small stature and high pitched voice just made it feel right. If he were to be played by a man, it would need to be a short, high tenor)
Yoshi: Tenor (My idea for Yoshi singing would be him having a single solo in the second act. After spending the entire show just saying Yoshi, suddenly he would break into song using actual English. The song would either be about, or contain at least one reference to the fact that the other characters can’t understand what he’s saying. While a chorus might join in at some point, the actual main characters still won’t understand anything Yoshi says during his number, even if it’s directed towards them, as the context of the song is the audience understanding Yoshi, rather than him suddenly gaining the ability to speak English. Perhaps this could get a callback at the end where maybe Yoshi sings again, only this time, everyone actually does understand him. Chalk it up to a joke about him having an English to Yoshi dictionary. I realize that sounds a bit similar to Lurch finally singing at the end of Addams Family, and while I don’t like the idea of my imaginary show having any similarities to that abomination, I’m willing to let it slide since Lurch is the best written part of that show. Yoshi could possibly be played by a woman, but it would need to be a tall woman. Anyway, I’ve just now realized that Yoshi is by far the most fleshed out part of my ideas for the show.)
Wario: Baritone (Possibly a bass-baritone, although if Alex Brightman played it, the part would need to be a baritone at the lowest. Whatever his voice, I feel like he should have some high notes up his sleeve)
Waluigi: Tenor
Donkey Kong: If he were to have a solo, I’m thinking baritone or bass-baritone, but I think the role shouldn’t really speak. Maybe he could have one very quick solo in someone else’s number. Honestly, while he could be in the show, it could easily not include him

Anyway, since I touched on voice types, why not mention what each role’s dancing would be like:

First off, I think all the principles should be good with general movement, as it should be an exciting, adventure filled story

Mario: Nothing too dance heavy, maybe he could have a bit of a waltz with Peach.
Luigi: Preferably a good dancer. I’ll mention below that I think Daisy should be a big dancer, and since I also think Luigi and Daisy should have a number together, I’d like to see him be able to keep up with her.
Peach: Same as Mario.
Bowser: Wouldn’t need to be much of a dancer at all. He’s probably the only principle that could have no dancing, since it doesn’t seem entirely in character for him. Perhaps he could have a small bit of choreography near the end if he forced Peach to do a little dance with him, in a similar vein to the Joker and Vicki Vale at the end of Tim Burton’s Batman.
Daisy: As I said above, Daisy should be an excellent dancer. Her character is loud and filled to the brim with energy, so it only makes sense that she’d have a combination of big notes and tough choreo. Sort of like Sutton Foster’s Reno Sweeney.
Toad: While he could be involved in some dancing, I don’t think this is a role that needs to do too much of it, or be highlighted when doing so.
Yoshi: Should be the best dancer in the show. Since he wouldn’t have much in the way of singing, or diversity when it comes to spoken lines, Yoshi should be the musical’s biggest dancer, even more so than Daisy.
Wario and Waluigi: Any choreography involving these two should prioritize humor. They don’t need to dance particularly well, but they should be getting laughs. This pairing should be very good when it comes to physical comedy.
Donkey Kong: Definitely a strong dancer. Could pull of some pretty cool physical tricks and stunts.

[SpookyFish13]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 12:14am

I absolutely love this idea!
I would be the first in line to buy tickets!

[RunningThatRoad]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 9:24am

This reminds me of one of my favorite odd little songs by the Mountain Goats & Kaki King, which is titled “Sorry Mario The Princess Is Another Castle”. It’s sung from the perspective of Toad, explaining the abject terror that he went through before Mario's arrival, and his inability to express it. It’s a perfect character song for a well known character IMO, reframing the little we know about him into a rich inner life. I could totally imagine it as a heartbroken soliloquy-type song for Toad after Mario leaves.

https://youtu.be/JZtDaba0Xm0

[AADA81]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 10:18am

Sounds silly to spend so much creative energy musicalizing a video game.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 10:24am

Thanks for your contribution!

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 10:53am

AADA81 said: "Sounds silly to spend so much creative energy musicalizing a video game."

I strongly disagree. We’ve seen musicals of movies, books, shows, comics, and cartoons. Why draw the line at video games? Especially when said video game is probably the most well known and beloved series in the entire genre. If the Spongebob Squarepants musical has proven anything, it’s that with the right amount of talent and genuine passion, you can make a brilliant show out of even the most unlikely subject matter.

[copskid949]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 12:41pm

Hot Pants said: "AADA81 said: "Sounds silly to spend so much creative energy musicalizing a video game."

I strongly disagree. We’ve seen musicals of movies, books, shows, comics, andcartoons. Why draw the line at video games? Especially when said video game is probably the most well known and beloved series in the entire genre. If the Spongebob Squarepants musical has proven anything, it’s that with the right amount of talent and genuine passion, you can make a brilliant show out of even the most unlikely subject matter."

Exactly this! And there’s enough lore surrounding Mario to really characterize them well. Their world is, for the most part, pretty well-explained or theorized about, and the characters have clear goals and motivations. Mario wants to be the hero and save Peach despite having some character flaws, Luigi is constantly in Mario’s shadow but will always protect his brother no matter what, Peach wants to establish a fair kingdom for all despite years of political shadiness and oppression (I’m not even kidding according to some sources the whole reason Bowser’s evil is because she treated certain creatures like crap), and Bowser is a lonely king who’s gone mad over time, twisting his once-just motivations into something dark and evil.

It sounds like a damn good time.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 12:54pm

Agreed. Something that could make a musical (or for that matter, any adaptation) great is that the world and characters are developed enough to know them, but still open enough to interpretation that there’s a lot of option that could be done with the plot