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A 'Star Trek' musical theater play possible? [Broadway]

jefferiestubes8

Commodore
Commodore
after seeing this article today I wondered if with all of the remakes and ports from Hollywood to Broadway theater like "Shrek" and "Legally Blonde" will we see a Star Trek musical theater show on Broadway?

If so what sort of plot/alien enemy do you think would make a show possible with actual musical songs?

If not do you think 'Star Trek' could do a Broadway drama [non-musical play] in New York?
Would you be interested in seeing a play instead of a new TV series/mini-series?
 
after seeing this article today I wondered if with all of the remakes and ports from Hollywood to Broadway theater like "Shrek" and "Legally Blonde" will we see a Star Trek musical theater show on Broadway?

If so what sort of plot/alien enemy do you think would make a show possible with actual musical songs?

If not do you think 'Star Trek' could do a Broadway drama [non-musical play] in New York?
Would you be interested in seeing a play instead of a new TV series/mini-series?

No.

No no no no no no no no no.

No.

And I say that as someone who is getting a degree in Theatre Studies and who adores the stage musical as the greatest artform ever.

No.

Star Trek does not lend itself to that medium. It lends itself to the television, film, and novel mediums, and none else.
 
I'll go with Sci that it wouldn't work but just for fun:
A spaceman came travelling - Chris DeBurgh
Across the universe - The Beatles
Child in Time - Deep Purple
Man on the moon - R.E.M.
Starship trooper - Yes
Princes of the universe - Queen
Space Oddity - David Bowie
Black hole sun - Soundgarden
 
There was actually an attempt to do STAR TREK as an opera a few years back. I think it fell through . . . .
 
I generally love musicals, but I just don't see the potential here. Then again, a musical version was made of Lord of the Rings. I didn't see that either...
 
You know, with some of the weird film and TV show properties to take off as musicals I honestly can't say whether or not this would fail. My instincts tell me it almost certainly would, but anything seems to be possible in Broadway these days.
 
I generally love musicals, but I just don't see the potential here. Then again, a musical version was made of Lord of the Rings. I didn't see that either...

Yeah, and the LotR musical sucked, too. But if you did a Star Trek musical, the enemies would have to be Klingons. Star Trek: The Klingon Opera! :klingon:

Seriously, the only Star Trek-related play (not musical) I would've been interested in seeing is the play that Andrew Robinson and Alexander Siddig did, The Dream Box.
 
You know, with some of the weird film and TV show properties to take off as musicals I honestly can't say whether or not this would fail. My instincts tell me it almost certainly would, but anything seems to be possible in Broadway these days.


You got a point there. Who would've figured you could get a hit musical out . . . .

1) an old Roger Corman movie about a man-eating plant?

2) the charismatic wife of Juan Peron of Argentina?

3) a serial-killing barber who bakes his victims into meat pies?

4) a bunch of old poems about cats?

5) a former nun escaping from Nazis?

Who knows? Maybe AMOK TIME: THE MUSICAL could work.
 
The Dream Box play

the only Star Trek-related play (not musical) I would've been interested in seeing is the play that Andrew Robinson and Alexander Siddig did, The Dream Box.



I searched and here is what he is talking about.
The Dream Box, a two-person play about Garak and Julian Bashir written and performed by Robinson and Alexander Siddig. The play was performed at Star Trek conventions they were appearing at together over a number of months.
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Prophecy_and_Change

At all of those conventions, I'll be doing the play that Alexander Siddig and I have written called "The Dream Box."
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/community/chat/archive/transcript/1145.html
5.30.2002
 
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You know, with some of the weird film and TV show properties to take off as musicals I honestly can't say whether or not this would fail. My instincts tell me it almost certainly would, but anything seems to be possible in Broadway these days.


You got a point there. Who would've figured you could get a hit musical out . . . .

1) an old Roger Corman movie about a man-eating plant?

2) the charismatic wife of Juan Peron of Argentina?

3) a serial-killing barber who bakes his victims into meat pies?

4) a bunch of old poems about cats?

5) a former nun escaping from Nazis?

Who knows? Maybe AMOK TIME: THE MUSICAL could work.

Of course, the thing about all of those stories you just cited is that they're complete stories in themselves, with beginnings, middles, and ends.

Star Trek is a setting, not a story, and therefore lacks a beginning, middle, and end. A Star Trek musical would by necessity be unable to encompass the entire Trek saga -- it would have to tell a single story within the larger Trek universe. But the problem with this is that the power of a given Trek story is derived in part from its relationship with other Trek stories (be they episodes or films); this is true even of the new film. A stage musical's power, on the other hand, is supposed to come from its own terms -- it is supposed to be a self-contained unit. The sources of creative power are incompatible.

Further, much of Trek's appeal comes from its fantastic setting -- one that the live stage would be hard-pressed to successfully re-create, in either a Naturalistic or non-Naturalistic design aesthetic. There's also the camp factor -- they're on a spaceship, and they're singing. Musicals work best when they either insist that you take the fundamental conceit of the genre -- that everyone will sing their feelings -- absolutely earnestly, or when they lampshade the absurdity of the concept. It would be hard to convince the audience to buy one fantastic conceit -- that of singing -- when you're already being asked to buy another fantastic conceit -- that you're in space. Combining the two would be hard to do earnestly, and would be inappropriate for Trek to do as a gag.

Most of all, though, I think Trek would be hard-pressed to come up with the kind of story with the emotional punch necessary to sustain a large-scale musical. That's not to say that Trek can't be emotional. But Trek's power comes from intellect as much as emotionalism; its emotions are usually tempered. In musicals, emotion dominates. I suppose you could do something like, say, "The City on the Edge of Forever" as a musical -- but, then, if you do, you're basically doing a musical set in 1930s New York, and the Enterprise almost seems superfluous to the musical's purposes.
 
'Dazzle - A Musical Spectacular' June 11-13 Leamington Spa, England

music from Star Trek will be performed at concerts in and around Leamington this week.


Dazzle - A Musical Spectacular will present a parody of Star Trek, suitable for adults and children, at Dale Street Methodist Church in Leamington from June 11-13.

Works by Purcell, Monteverdi and Judith Weir will be performed by soprano singer Kathryn Hardy accompanied by Stuart Smith on piano at Holy Trinity church in Beauchamp Avenue in Leamington on June 12 at 1.15pm.

Fans of Purcell can look forward to a celebration of the composer in Warwick on June 13, with concerts taking place at the Unitarian Chapel in High Street at 11am and 1pm and at St Mary's church at 7.30pm.

Thurs 11 -
Sat 13
01926 742630
Ring for times
Dazzle - A Musical Spectacular

Dale Street Methodist Church Dale Street Leamington Spa CV32 5HL
A brilliantly funny parody of Star Trek suitable for all the family. Tickets Thursday matinee £3, Friday and Saturday £5 (£4) and children £3. Family 2+2 £12 from 01926 742630 (County Music Service)

For ticket prices and a full programme, call 450000 or visit www.musictoyourears.org.uk


http://www.warwickcourier.co.uk/entertainment/Star-Trek-parody-among-Leamington.5334888.jp
 
No.

No no no no no no no no no.

No.

And I say that as someone who is getting a degree in Theatre Studies and who adores the stage musical as the greatest artform ever.

No.

Star Trek does not lend itself to that medium. It lends itself to the television, film, and novel mediums, and none else.

Couldn't agree more. Except I think opera's the greatest artform ever. ;) I studied opera, so I have to say that. :D I do love musical theater though, I truly do, it's what got me into the theater. However, Star Trek as a musical?! NO!!!!
 
Couldn't agree more. Except I think opera's the greatest artform ever. ;) I studied opera, so I have to say that. :D I do love musical theater though, I truly do, it's what got me into the theater. However, Star Trek as a musical?! NO!!!!
Yeah, an opera could work. I'm picturing the fat lady going: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
 
Couldn't agree more. Except I think opera's the greatest artform ever. ;) I studied opera, so I have to say that. :D I do love musical theater though, I truly do, it's what got me into the theater. However, Star Trek as a musical?! NO!!!!
Yeah, an opera could work. I'm picturing the fat lady going: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Of course, Kirk would have to be sung as a tenor, since all heros in opera are tenors. We could get a bass to be the evil guy. :guffaw:
 
Klingon Christmas Carol - Minneapolis, MN Nov.-Dec. 2009

Scrooge has no honor, nor any courage. Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate?
Performed in the Original Klingon with English Supertitles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology.

The Dickens classic tale of ghosts and redemption adapted to reflect the Warrior Code of Honor and then translated into tlhIngan Hol (That's the Klingon Language).

If you are in the upper-midwest region, I suggest you attend a show and see (according to the Klingons) the original Christmas Carol story.
October 21, 2009

Klingon Christmas Carol
http://www.lhotka.net/weblog/KlingonChristmasCarol.aspx

12 performances
Minneapolis, MN Nov.-Dec. 2009

I came across this and had to share as it is somewhat absurd. This past year has already brought us the Klingon Opera.
 
A Star Trek musical isn't a half-bad idea. It could be terrible, but it'd be different. I think a TOS-like atmosphere would work best on stage because much of that show's visual design may work on a small budget (and add to the kitsch value, no doubt).

I'd probably watch it. I'd watch this opera of "Amok Time", after all.

Couldn't agree more. Except I think opera's the greatest artform ever. ;) I studied opera, so I have to say that. :D
It also has the added benefit of being true!

I'd love to see a Star Trek opera. Preferably a Klingon opera, of the sort Worf was so fond of.
 
A Star Trek musical could work. It is no more odd than doing a Spider-Man musical.

But the question that no one here as asked is, "Will it be canon?" :p
 
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