Theatrical adaptation

In a theatrical adaptation, material from another artistic medium, such as a novel or a film is re-written according to the needs and requirements of the theatre and turned into a play or musical.

Elision and interpolation

Directors must make artistic decisions about what to include and exclude from the source material. The original mediums have a significant influence on these decisions, for example, much must be elided in the adaptation from a novel to a stage production, due to practical time constraints. These decisions are always controversial and comparisons between the original and the adaptation are unavoidable.^{[ original research? ]}

Novel adaptation

The Phantom of the Opera was originally a novel by Gaston Leroux written as a serialisation from 1909 to 1910. It is the longest running show in Broadway history. There are numerous examples of novel adaptations in the field, including Cats , which was based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) by T.S. Eliot and Les Misérables , which was originally an 1862 historical novel by Victor Hugo. Tales of the South Pacific would be adapted into the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. ^[1]

Film adaptation

The Lion King was originally a 1994 Disney animated film and its theatrical adaptation has become the most successful musical in history.

Adaptations from other sources

The 1975 musical Chicago was adapted from a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, who was a reporter and used her experiences with real-life criminals to form the basis of the story. The musical Oklahoma! is an adaptation of the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs. ^[2]

References

1. "The Story Behind South Pacific". Observer. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
2. "Oklahoma! | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved 2020-08-22.