Ivo Van Hove to direct stage adaptation of The Shining

[Call_me_jorge]

I think this has the potential to be really good. Plus broadway doesn’t have many horror shows, which I think it could use.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Ivo-van-Hove-to-Direct-Stage-Adaptation-of-THE-SHINING-20190822

[carolinaguy]

Call_me_jorge said: " Plus broadway doesn’t have many horror shows"

There's a reason for that. Horror is best left to film, as the Carrie and Misery stage versions attest.

[Kad]

I think we're at a Van Hove oversaturation point. 

[JPeterman]

I know his work seems to be a love it or hate it kind of thing for many people, but I love it. For me, there is no such thing as too much Ivo Van Hove .... or cow bell. We need more.

[Alex Kulak2]

carolinaguy said: "Call_me_jorge said: " Plus broadway doesn’t have many horror shows"

There's a reason for that. Horror is best left to film, as the Carrie and Misery stage versions attest."

There are some great horror shows. Sweeney Todd, Alistair McDowall's plays like X and Pomona. You could call the works of Sarah Kane horror, like Blasted or Cleansed.

Maybe they don't make it to Broadway, but there's definitely something you can do with horror on the stage.

Sometimes, I think the problem is with Stephen King, not horror in general. I love Stephen King's books, but they're so long and dense and layered, it's near impossible to condense them into a 2 hour stage show. It's why so many of his films are hit or miss. The best adaptations are from his short stories, like The Shawshank Redemption and 1922, or when his stories are spread across a limited series or even multiple films, like 11/22/63 or the 2017 version of It.

[CATSNYrevival]

Horror can work on stage when done correctly. Phantom is mostly high romance and pageantry but it still has elements of horror and like Phantom The Woman in Black has been playing in the West End for eons.

[DoTheDood]

CATSNYrevival said: "Horror can work on stage when done correctly. Phantom is mostly high romance and pageantry but it still has elements of horror and like Phantom The Woman in Black has been playing in the West End for eons."

This has been mentioned in threads before, but it seems like horror works better for folks in the West End than Broadway. This could have be successful across the pond, but if it transfers, it might not find the same audience. 

[devonian.t]

 expect it will be very sparse and symbolic.  And utterly miss the atmosphere and quality of the original book

[zainmax]

Is the atmosphere and quality of the book different from the movie?

Find it interesting in article that King wanted it as a play first. I'm curious how involved he'll be in it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2019/08/21/the-shining-could-be-coming-to--broadway/#3db835cc50ab

[uncageg]

Kad said: "I think we're at a Van Hove oversaturation point."

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Pose2]

Me too. 

[FindingNamo]

Picture: A maze.

Front corner, stage right: A TV tray, with a rusty, manual typewriter.

Center stage: A single floating doorknob.

Front corner, stage left, a TV tray with a record player on top, a pile of records leaning against it. Album jacket of David Bowie's "Earthling" clearly visible.

[BJR]

Kad said: "I think we're at a Van Hove oversaturation point."

Disagree. If we can have a Joe Mantello show on Bway every year - hell, multiple Casey Nicholaw shows - then we can have a Van Hove every season. Fine by me!

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Of course it is premiering in the West End. What is up with the Brits and wanting to turn classic movies into straight plays?

The Graduate

When Harry Met Sally

Reservoir Dogs

The Exorcist

Network

(I'm sure I'm forgetting several others)

and now...The Shining. Even the well-received ones are generally met with the consensus of, "It's good, but not as good as the movie was." 

Well, if it's the only way to get commercial audiences to see a non-musical, I guess go for it. Maybe this one will actually have a reason to exist...

[Charley Kringas Inc]

As noted King originally conceived it as a play, and it has been adapted into a well-received opera, so I’m sure Van Hove could do something interesting with it.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Hey Namo, welcome back to the main board! Your post is perhaps a tad obtuse but I’ll take it. Many here have missed you.

[Lot666]

The Distinctive Baritone said: "The Exorcist"

Several years ago, my husband and I sat for hours in a coffee shop discussing ideas for The Exorcist as a musical. I still think, with the right composer and creative team, it could be phenomenal.

[zainmax]

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Of course it is premiering in the West End. What is up with the Brits and wanting to turn classic movies into straight plays?

The Graduate

When Harry Met Sally

Reservoir Dogs

The Exorcist

Network

(I'm sure I'm forgetting several others)

and now...The Shining. Even the well-received ones are generally met with the consensus of, "It's good, but not as good as the movie was."

Well, if it's the only way to get commercial audiences to see a non-musical, I guess go for it. Maybe this one will actually have a reason to exist..."

Didn't realize that When Harry Met Sally was made into a play!

[zainmax]

Lot666 said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "The Exorcist"

Several years ago, my husband and I sat for hours in a coffee shop discussing ideas for The Exorcist as a musical. I still think, with the right composer and creative team, it could be phenomenal."

PAGING FRANK WILDHORN!

The play, though, is probably up the air now since its producer is facing child porn charges.

[CATSNYrevival]

I'm not sure about an Exorcist musical but I would like to see a Woman in Black musical. Not to be confused with the Woman in White.

[zainmax]

CATSNYrevival said: "I'm not sure about an Exorcist musical but I would like to see a Woman in Black musical. Not to be confused with the Woman in White."

Ugh. I got to see the play when I'm in London. Is it scary?

[GeorgeandDot]

This isn't an adaption of a film. It's being adapted from King's book, which if you've read it, is a truly psychologically thrilling chamber piece that makes perfect sense as a play. The acting opportunities are going to be amazing. I can't wait to see who gets cast for these roles.

[zainmax]

GeorgeandDot said: "This isn't an adaption of a film. It's being adapted from King's book, which if you've read it, is a truly psychologically thrilling chamber piece that makes perfect sense as a play. The acting opportunities are going to be amazing. I can't wait to see who gets cast for these roles."

The article says King intended it to be a play, so that makes sense.

[darquegk]

I'm not sure how true the "Shining was intended originally as a play" thing is; what I believe to be the case is actually that early drafts of the novel had a theatre-based structure with acts and a prologue, and would feature more theatrical imagery throughout.

The original "prologue" is out there among King's apocrypha and uncollected stories.

[zainmax]

darquegk said: "I'm not sure how true the "Shining was intended originally as a play" thing is; what I believe to be the case is actually that early drafts of the novel had a theatre-based structure with acts and a prologue, and would feature more theatrical imagery throughout.

The original "prologue" is out there among King's apocrypha and uncollected stories."

What do you mean re. theatrical imagery? The book has five parts.