History Main / AllMusicalsAreAdaptations

** Gilbert and Sullivan also toyed briefly with the idea of a ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' parody. Ah, WhatMightHaveBeen...

This trope is so common that it is more useful to list [[AvertedTrope exceptions]] and parodies than straight examples, and it is often said "great musicals are not written, they are ''re-written''". Note, however, that it can be difficult to define what counts as an "adaptation". Whilst many musicals draw their narrative structure directly from the movie, novel, stage play, comic book, short story, ancient Greek myth etc. on which they were based, many other musicals take their inspiration from a variety of unusual sources -- a historical figure or event, a painting, a concept -- but provide an original narrative. Historically, this is hardly a new phenomenon, as most {{opera}}s, operettas and {{ballet}}s are also adaptations. Only here it is not as obvious to lay people thanks to AdaptationDisplacement and because many classic operas were adapted from works which were not as well-known in the first place or which have since been entirely forgotten by the general public.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Rusty wants to make a musical about his life (a Johnny Quest boy-adventurer sort of childhood with its own cartoon show), though this never gets off the ground. He does get a duet with the in-universe version of Spider-Man, the Brown Widow, which might be a parody of ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark''. For a bonus joke, Brown Widow mentions being in The Sound of Music as a kid, the film of which featured Nicholas Hammond, the 1970s TV Spider-Man, as Friedrich Von Trapp.

* Some musicals, such as ''[[Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix 1776]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar The Civil War]]'', ''Floyd Collins'', ''Pacific Overtures'',''Theatre/{{Titanic}}'' (which coincidentally was produced the same year as [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} the film of the same name]]), ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'' and ''Theatre/{{Parade}}'' are not based on any literary source, per se, but rather on historical event. Though ''The Civil War'' does include a few direct quotes from speeches, etc., what these musicals get from history is their plots and many/most of their characters.

* ''tick, tick... Boom!''

** Similarly, biographical musicals, such as ''Theatre/AnnieGetYourGun'', ''Theatre/{{Evita}}'' and ''I Am Star Trek'' (Creator/GeneRoddenberry).

-->-- '''Alan Jay Lerner''', ''Advice to Young Musical Writers''

** Dion, hired to direct Angela's play, was previously involved with ''Oh, Doctor!'', based on ''Literature/{{Arrowsmith}}''.

* {{Jukebox Musical}}s with original plots (''Theatre/MammaMia'', ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007'', ''Theatre/RockOfAges'', etc) ''[[ExactWords technically]]'' are not entirely aversions, since they re-work pre-existing material into new presentations, but since the term "adaptation" usually refers to plot, not music, these shows may get a bye. It's debatable whether jukebox musicals where the plots are biographies of the musician(s) whose songs are being used (ie, ''Theatre/JerseyBoys'') count, being they are literally adaptations of the subjects' life story.

* {{Jukebox Musical}}s (''Theatre/MammaMia'', ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007'', ''Theatre/JerseyBoys'', etc) ''[[ExactWords technically]]'' are not aversions, since they re-work pre-existing material into new presentations. However, the term "adaptation" usually refers to plot, not music, which may give these shows a bye via popular vote.

* ''Theatre/ComingOutOfTheirShells''

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': In [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E23BrideOfTheMonster Bride of the Monster]], ''[=MST3K=]'' present: ''Hired! The Musical''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has numerous fictional musical adapations which parody the concept by drawing from bizarre and/or inappropriate sources:

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': In [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E23BrideOfTheMonster Bride of the Monster]], ''[=MST3K=]'' present: ''[[Film/Hired Hired!]] The Musical''.

Incidentally, this is why so many musicals are subtitled [[TitleTheAdaptation The Musical]][[ExcitedShowTitle !]]

* ''Series/MadAboutYou'' once had the Buchmans attending ''[[ExcitedShowTitle Moby!]]'', a musical version of ''Literature/MobyDick''.

* ''Film/TheArtOfTheSteal'': While attempting to explain to the border guard why his wearing a false beard, Francie claims that he is in a play called ''Film/{{Witness}}!: The Musical''. (And, yes, he specifically mentions that it has an [[ExcitedShowTitle exclamation mark]].)

$ '''Commerciality.''' Primarily, musical theatre has always been a commercial medium that tries to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Moreover, as the sheer costs of staging a Broadway or West End musical continue to skyrocket, producers are under increasing pressure to guarantee their shows will be smash hits. Audiences are more likely to come see a musical (or play, or film ...) based on a property with which they are already familiar, so adaptations are a safer bet than original works, though of course they're not sure hits (as proven by the line of unsuccessful musical adaptations of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' stretching back to 1899).

Many musicals - one could even argue the ''majority'' - are adaptations. There are two major reasons for this tendency:

'''a) Dramaturgy.''' Many musicals will have separate artists working on each aspect of the text - book, music and lyrics. Some musicals will have more than one person working on each aspect, and then you have the influence of directors, choreographers and producers. It's hard enough to write a good story as it is, so adapting an existing and proven story provides everybody working on the show with a touchstone.

'''b) Commerciality.''' Primarily, musical theatre has always been a commercial medium that tries to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Moreover, as the sheer costs of staging a Broadway or West End musical continue to skyrocket, producers are under increasing pressure to guarantee their shows will be smash hits. Audiences are more likely to come see a musical (or play, or film ...) based on a property with which they are already familiar, so adaptations are a safer bet than original works, though of course they're not sure hits (as proven by the line of unsuccessful musical adaptations of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' stretching back to 1899).

This trope is so common that it is more useful to list [[AvertedTrope exceptions]] and parodies than straight examples, and it is often said "great musicals are not written, they are ''re-written''". Note, however, that it can be difficult to define what counts as an "adaptation". Whilst many musicals draw their narrative structure directly from the movie, novel, stage play, comic book, short story, ancient Greek myth etc. on which they were based, many other musicals take their inspiration from a variety of unusual sources - a historical figure or event, a painting, a concept - but provide an original narrative. Historically, this is hardly a new phenomenon, as most {{opera}}s, operettas and {{ballet}}s are also adaptations. Only here it is not as obvious to lay people thanks to AdaptationDisplacement and because many classic operas were adapted from works which were not as well-known in the first place or which have since been entirely forgotten by the general public.

* A cutaway reveals Peter once performed in ''Red Dawn - The Musical'' on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. "I'm a Wolverine/And my hatred keeps me warm..."

** Who could forget ''Kickin' It: A Musical Journey Through the Betty Ford Center'' from "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson"?

This trope is so common that it is more useful to list [[AvertedTrope exceptions]] and parodies than straight examples, and it is often said "great musicals are not written, they are ''re-written''". Note, however, that it can be difficult to define what counts as an "adaptation". Whilst many musicals draw their narrative structure directly from the movie, novel, stage play, comic book, short story, ancient Greek myth etc. on which they were based, many other musicals take their inspiration from a variety of unusual sources - a historical figure or event, a painting, a concept - but provide an original narrative. Historically, this is hardly a new phenomenon, as most [[{{Opera}} operas]], operettas and ballets are also adaptations. Only here it is not as obvious to lay people thanks to AdaptationDisplacement and because many classic operas were adapted from works which were not as well-known in the first place or which have since been entirely forgotten by the general public.

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': The Season 5 premiere "Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl" revolves around Gene's musical version of ''Film/DieHard'' being passed over for the annual school play over Courtney Wheeler's musical version of ''Film/WorkingGirl''

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' had Zoe and Kent go see "[[http://beta.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=030810 The Cylon King]]," a Broadway musical based on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. Kent remarks they should have gotten tickets to "[[ComicStrip/FlashGordon Thoroughly Merciless Ming]]" instead.