I’ve been thinking: What YA and Children’s Books should be adapted for the theatrical stage?
Plays and musicals based on children’s and YA books are all the rage off-Broadway these days: The Lightning Thief musical just opened, and Puffs has been happily playing off-Broadway for months. Even the Wall Street Journal has taken notice! So if this is to become a trend, here are half a dozen other books we would love to see on stage!
‘Inkheart’ by Cornelia Funke
Fans of this magical story about stories were among those most burned by a film adaptation, which was so bad that the author has come out and said she does not want any further films made from her works. But she’s never said anything about stage adaptations! It could be done on a small scale, emphasizing books as the main visual element rather as Matilda did with letters. Or it could be a big spectacle, possibly with a real fire-eater playing Dustfinger! And if Lilla Crawford (Annie) was Meggie and Victoria Clark played Elinor, we’d be very happy campers. Though Inkheart is the first of a trilogy, the first book can function as a standalone, and the world-building is not so complex as to require lots of exposition for the uninitiated.
‘Ella Enchanted’ by Gail Carson Levine
A fantasy retelling of Cinderella would go over extremely well with family audiences in general, not just the ardent book fans. In fact, an Ella Enchanted show would be mainstream enough to actually be on Broadway, rather than off. It could capture the same audiences currently flocking to Anastasia. The barely recognizable film version, starring Anne Hathaway, already teetered into musical territory. So why not take the plunge? Except, perhaps, hew closer to the book this time. We think the number where Lucinda gets Ella ready for the ball could be a real showstopper, especially if someone like Casey Nicholaw is directing. We could see Sutton Foster playing Ella – there’s a reason she’s starring on a show called “Younger.”
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Stephen Chbosky
The seminal coming-of-age story could extend its tearjerking to the stage, where audiences would come night after night to have a good cry. The theatre has long championed LGBT stories, so Perks would fit right in. Stephen Chbosky could write it himself, much like he adapted it for the big screen. We now know he knows his way around writing a musical, given that he wrote the script for the live-action Beauty and the Beast film. The story has a small cast, so it wouldn’t be in the position of having every actor playing ten different roles. The only big setpiece is the car driving through the tunnel, so that’s where much of the money would go.
‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar
This is the rare YA book that actually received a decent film adaptation! But it’s a simple and elegant story that lends itself to being adapted. The cast can be filled out with former Newsies, perhaps with Corey Cott as Stanley. There are few settings (mostly cabins or desert) so it could be done on an off-Broadway budget. This could work as either a play or a musical, but we’re hoping for the latter. Mostly because we want to see the Warden and campers sing a version of “Work Song” from Les Miserables as they dig.
‘A Great and Terrible Beauty’ by Libba Bray
Libba Bray’s gothic Gemma Doyle trilogy cries out for a musical version! The characters are so full of angst, they need an opportunity to sing their feelings. Not to mention, Ann is a singer in the books, so it’s not much of a stretch. It would be refreshing, given all the male-led adaptations we’ve seen thus far, to see a story with four female leads. Perhaps cast some of the actresses from Heathers the Musical – Jessica Keenan Wynn would be a fierce Felicity! The first book has a relatively complete story, needing no compromises between cliffhangers and closure.
‘Princess Diaries’ by Meg Cabot
This beloved series about Mia Thermopolis already received two film adaptations. The movies may not have been very close to the books, but they were so good that most of us don’t mind. As Meg Cabot said at Book Expo 2015, if they offer to make your movie with Garry Marshall and Julie Andrews, you say yes! A stage play would work based on either the books or the movie, but we’re pulling for something closer to the books. For one, the books are set in NYC, so a play in NYC would bring back the correct setting! We’d be able to see fan favorite characters like Tina and Boris, and see the villainous version of Grandmere brought to life.
Best of all, the author is down with this idea. Meg Cabot said in a 2015 interview, “I think a Princess Diaries musical would be hilarious. [For Fat Louie] I think they should adopt a stray cat from an animal shelter and train it like they did with Sandy the Dog from Annie.… I’m so looking forward to seeing that one day.” (source) Here’s hoping Mia finds her way to the stage sometime soon!
Which of your favorite books would you like to see adapted for the stage? Any casts you have in mind?
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