I suspect I might be a rare fan of the movie, but yes, it is very dated . Tim Minchin did Judas recently in London; wish I'd got a chance to see. And Chorus Line is currently in revival as well; only one I haven't seen yet of the recent West End runs (Wicked, Little Shop..., Chicago, Guys & Dolls, Kiss Me Kate et al). Hope not derailing too much, but are there any 'bad' musicals people here love? I have a soft spot for At Long Last Love, Lost Horizon and Song of Norway . And adore Ken Russell's The Boyfriend. Guess I just love musicals in their infinite variety.
Don't get me wrong, I love the movie Jesus Christ Superstar. Ted Neeley, as Jesus was great, I loved him singing Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) and Carl Anderson's Judas is amazing. Yvonne Elliman was just as good as the two male leads. I pull the movie out and watch when I feel the buzz. But it might be time for an updating, I've always wondered what it'd be like without the surreal aspect of the Romans in Muscle shirts and holding machine guns. Or of full sets being used instead of ruins. As for bad musicals that I like, Grease 2 does have some catch songs, Cool Rider; funny songs that might not have been meant to be funny Whose That Guy, and songs that go back and forth between silly and decent Girl for All Seasons/(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time. I love musicals too.
I never understood the hate Ted Neeley got for Jesus Christ Superstar. I saw him in a stage production of it about 15 years ago, and though he was a little bit too old, he still rocked the part.
I never saw any hate for Ted Neeley. I've always liked his portrayal of Christ more than some of actors who did a non musical "serious" portrayal of Christ.
On the musical front, Deanna Durbin passed away at 91. She's probably one of the last of the great MGM musical stars. RIP.
As long as they don't turn Xanadu into a stage musical! Fun, in a way, but dated. Very dated. And it didn't help the film that Michael Beck not only couldn't act the role, he and Newton -John had NO chemistry at all.
Christ, I thought she'd been dead for years. I assume you're being ironic? And Heaven Can Wait was also the title of the 1978 remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. And the 2001 re-remake with Chris Rock was called Down to Earth! It's enough to make your head spin. As for Xanadu (the 1980 film), it's best appreciated with a group of friends tossing out wisecracks and bons mots, MST3K-style.
Oops! I wasn't being ironic! I can't believe it, though nothing should be surprising anymore. The movie was fun, in its way. They really should've recast the male lead. OMG, he sucked!
Marat/Sade. When the theatre department at my college wanted to do it in 1972, they told the dean it was a musical so it could involve the music department. I was Marat, in an empty bathtub center stage for about 2 hours with 2 beam projectors at half power as my key lights. Always had to refresh my melted makeup at intermission.
Next to Normal would be a great one to see, as would others -- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, etc. -- but I gotta say that most of the time, I don't think the musical form works well in the live action film medium.
Many wouldn't translate as well to film as say, West Side Story or The Sound of Music. But like any transfer from one medium to another, it can, if done right.
I second the idea for a Star Trek musical-I'd call it Star Trek: Go To Warp 5 (like Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark).
Well if we want Star Trek on stage, Aktuh and Maylota should be converted from opera to a musical format. Though the Klingons might not like that.
How about a remake of The Best Little Whore House in Texas? The movie was fun, but Burt just didn't do well IMO. And having the soundtrack sung all by Dolly Parton, while I do enjoy her singing, was a bit much and just came off as a power play be her.
Next to Normal and Avenue Q (both already mentioned I think) would be fantastic but I wouldn't want them to receive the Hollywood treatment, yes they could benefit from bigger budgets but I think having execs meddling with the content would sour their messages =(
You know, you may have hit upon the best and only way the sstory could have been told on screen and not lose the elements that made the novel unique for it's time, and not look silly.