Longest Adaptation Daisy-Chain?

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 9:22am

What are some interesting paths a story has had going from retelling to retelling, medium to medium, to eventually end up a musical?

One of my favorites is Hello Dolly, which is based on The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, which was based on his earlier play The Merchant of Yonkers, which was based on Einen Jux will er sich machen by Johann Nestoy, which was based on A Day Well Spent by John Oxenford, which was inspired by The Miser by Molière.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 9:53am

Alex Kulak2 said: "What are some interesting paths a story has had going from retelling to retelling, medium to medium, to eventually end up a musical?

One of my favorites isHello Dolly, which is based on The Matchmakerby Thornton Wilder, which was based on his earlier playThe Merchant of Yonkers, which was based onEinen Jux will er sich machenby Johann Nestoy, which was based onA Day Well Spentby John Oxenford, which was inspired by The Miserby Molière."

Well done!  But you've forgotten Tom Stoppard's  ON THE RAZZLE

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 10:18am

Fun question! I've actually thought about this question before, but I had no idea Hello Dolly was part of such a long daisy chain, and I don't think I can top that, or even match it. 

One that I found particularly amusing was Bat Out of Hell. Steinman wrote a musical in the 70s that was a loose retelling of Peter Pan. The musical was then loosely adapted into a series of albums, which were then loosely adapted into the musical. So I like to say that Bat Out of Hell was "a loose adaptation of a loose adaptation of a loose adaptation of Peter Pan." It was fun to see the show and track those degrees of separation, because there are still some Peter Pan elements remaining. 

In terms of your standard modern Broadway musical track, the longest we usually see is probably "real life --> book --> movie --> musical." Catch Me If You Can fits the bill there, and I'm sure there are others. 

Some of the shows based on Shakespeare's work might reveal some significant daisy chains if you dig back deep enough into the scholarly, historical stuff. A lot of his plays were based on old stories which would've had their own daisy-chains of re-tellings going back quite a ways. 

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 5:03pm

Off the top of my head, there's Anastasia, which is based on the 1997 animated film, which is based on the 1956 film written by Arthur Laurents, which is based on the 1952 play by Marcelle Maurette, which is based (very loosely) on true events.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 6:53pm

JBroadway said: "Fun question! I've actually thought about this question before, but I had no idea Hello Dolly was part of such a long daisy chain, and I don't think I can top that, or even match it.

One that I found particularly amusing was Bat Out of Hell. Steinman wrote a musical in the 70s that was a loose retelling of Peter Pan. The musical was then loosely adapted into a series of albums, which were then loosely adapted into the musical. So I like to say that Bat Out of Hell was "a loose adaptation of a loose adaptation of a loose adaptation of Peter Pan." It was fun to see the show and track those degrees of separation, because there are still some Peter Pan elements remaining.

In terms of your standard modern Broadway musical track, the longest we usually see is probably "real life --> book --> movie --> musical." Catch Me If You Can fits the bill there, and I'm sure there are others.

Some of the shows based on Shakespeare's work might reveal some significant daisy chains if you dig back deep enough into the scholarly, historical stuff. A lot of his plays were based on old stories which would've had their own daisy-chains of re-tellings going back quite a ways."

My knowledge of Steinman is so tangential (I know Bat Out of Hell because of Meat Loaf because of Rocky Horror), I had NO idea Bat Out of Hell started out as a retelling of Peter Pan. Thinking of that, and seeing the album cover image in my head, is very amusing. Thanks!

[missthemountains]

Posted: 4/9/21 at 7:52pm

Two off the top of my head--

Carrie: novella to DePalma film, musical adaptation of the DePalma film and aspects of the novel on Broadway, Off-Broadway revival of the musical which drew from the book even more, and a TV show episode about teenagers putting on a production of Carrie which is designed very, very, close to the DePalma version and not at all like the licensed Off-Broadway version. 

Rocky Horror: a loose parody of the film The Yesterday Machine (1965) and other B-movies, written as a stage show in London which became so successful, only for it to become a Broadway flop and a flop as a musical film, which later gained cult status a B movie. Then the creator sequel called Shock Treatment which became a flop movie, later was adapted for the stage.