There’s no shortage of films that have been adapted into Broadway musicals, so why stop now?
The New York Post is reporting that the Weinsteins are set on bringing several classic Miramax titles to the forefront of Broadway. Joining the likes of Dreamworks‘ “Shrek: The Musical,” as well as every adaptation from “The Wedding Singer” to “Mary Poppins,” Harvey Weinstein would like to use Miramax titles to expand the Weinstein Co. Live name. This will allow him to add “Broadway producer” to his already expansive resume. Apparently Weinstein has some credibility on Broadway, having producer credits on successful shows like “Billy Elliot,” “The Producers,” and the Elvis-themed musical “All Shook Up.” While his success rate with musicals on the silver screen remains unimpressive (remember the Rob Marshall-directed “Nine“?), that isn’t a bad start to a career on the boards.
A stage version of “Finding Neverland” is apparently already in production, but a recent preview of the show in California was canceled when Weinstein felt it wasn’t ready for the big time just yet. Perhaps the cancellation shows that even if his latest endeavor into musicals feels contrived, he’s at least aiming for quality? There are already plans for “Chocolat” and “Cinema Paradiso” to follow in the footsteps of ‘Neverland,’ and apparently the Miramax vaults will be scoured for eight to ten more titles. If you can’t tell by our overall tone, this news doesn’t exactly thrill us. While most of those films are great, and few would deny that Miramax has a mostly stellar output, why exactly do they have to be adapted into musicals? Perhaps we could at least hope that Weinstein could bring some Dimension titles to the fold, so Ghostface could be carving up singing teens in “Scream: The Musical” in no time. Then again, that may also allow “Spy Kids: The Musical” to be pushed on families everywhere. Ugh.
