From Movie to Musical

Today, the Oscar-winning Best Picture Rocky opens as a musical on Broadway.

I have to be honest here and say that I've never seen the movie (gasp!). In fact, really my only involvement with Rocky at all was when my college marching band got to play on the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The infamous "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The fact that I've never seen the movie won't keep me from seeing Rocky on Broadway... If you know me, you know that I'll see any musical at least once. But this got me thinking about movies that I have seen that I would love to see on stage. Here are two that I've thought for years would make great musicals:

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean  

Sure I love the traditional Disney musicals like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. And I really can't wait to take my boys to see Aladdin in a few months. And I really really hope that Frozen does make its way to Broadway because I think it would be amazing. But I think Disney has a gem here that they haven't yet realized. I'll call it buried treasure. Can you just imagine the costumes and effects for this one? So Disney - can you get on this?

 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 

There have been plenty of holiday movies made into musicals, from A Christmas Story to Elf. But wouldn't it be epic to see the Griswold's holiday disasters unfold on stage? I'd sure pay to see that! I mean, can you just imagine watching the whole lights scene in person? I'm laughing just thinking about it!










Like I mentioned, I've thought for years that these two movies would make great musicals. I've even written to Disney to make the Pirates suggestion (though I'm sure my note never made it past the intern). In fact, if I had the money or the connections, I'd produce both of these shows myself! (Side note - if anyone reading this has any money or connections that they would like to share with me to make either of these shows happen, please let me know!) I don't mean to sound full of myself, but I think I have a pretty good sense of what would work on Broadway and what wouldn't. I can pretty much smell a Tony-winner before it even makes it to previews. But I've digressed; that's a post for another day...

So back to the topic at hand, what movies would you like to see made into musicals?

Who Is Adela Dazeem?

If you didn't see the Oscars last night, you probably don't have a clue who (or what) I'm talking about. Let me get you up to speed...

Have you ever heard of the movie Frozen? I thought so. How about the song "Let It Go" from Frozen? Thought so too. How about the name of the girl who sings the song "Let It Go" from Frozen (and I'm not talking about Demi Lovato)? Maybe. Well, if you don't know the name of the voice behind the song "Let It Go" from Frozen, I'll tell you. It's Idina Menzel.

So you might be wondering how this has anything to do with Adela Dazeem. Well, here is John Travolta to enlighten you:

Ummm...what?

That's right. Adela Dazeem is in fact the one and only Idina Menzel. At least according to good old John here.

So now that we have that straightened out, let me tell you a little bit more about Adela Dazeem (or should we just say Idina now?).

Yes, Idina Menzel is the incredible voice behind the now Oscar-winning song "Let It Go." Millions of families all over the world (especially those with young children) have been hearing Idina belt out this song for months now. Even weathermen are now resorting to doing parodies of this song in their weather reports...

But Idina is soooo much more than the voice behind Queen Elsa...

Have you ever heard of this little Broadway musical called Wicked? Guess who won a Tony Award for originating the role of Elphaba in Wicked? You guessed it...Idina.

Idina Menzel as Elphaba in Wicked (she looks a little, um, greener here)

And how about the Broadway hit Rent? Guess who starred as Maureen? You guessed right again... Idina.

Wicked and Rent are just two of many of her past successes before this whole Frozen/Let It Go Craze began.

And right now, she's working on a new musical called If/Then, which I have no doubt is going to be a huge success. I know it's at the top of my not-to-be-missed Broadway shows list. Here, take a quick listen for yourself:

You know, after John Travolta butchered her name last night, I think a lot of Idina fans were probably throwing some choice words at him. But I actually think he did her a favor. If just one more person has their eyes opened to musical theatre after his embarrassing mispronunciation, then it was worth it.

So I hope you now have a better idea of who Adela Dazeem is. And I hope that you also realize she's so much more than one song in one Disney movie.