Active Users:354 Time:17/06/2025 02:39:44 PM
There is a musical episode of buffy.... jh Send a noteboard - 31/01/2010 09:50:22 AM
A few questions that I hope will provoke some discussion/mild debates/large-scale arguments/huge flame wars to scorch the very coding of this site.

So.

Are there any sci-fi or fantasy ( or if you prefer, "speculative fiction" ) musicals? Doesn't the concept seem fairly ludicrous? Can you think of any sf/f theater--or for that matter, cinema--that could possibly be taken seriously? There are a few old movies, like 2001: A Space Odyssey. But really, can you think of any made after, say, 1990?

Why do you think sf/f is largely not taken seriously? And why do you think it transfers so poorly to other media, given that so much of the theater's established classics have elements of the fantastic?

And no, A Midsummer Night's Dream is not "fantasy." Actually discuss the failings of the genre; don't try to co-opt other works into it.

EDIT: Chatting with someone about this has made it apparent my question isn't clear. In short, why aren't sf/f plays or musicals written, if the genre is deep? I'd prefer for the discussion to be limited to 20th century works and later, since I foresee anything else deteriorating rapidly into arguments for the inclusion of Homer's Iliad into the corpus of fantasy.


But perhaps this is the wrong place to ask, as the board is primarily about books, and musical set books are not at all common.

I honestly can't remember any real musicals based on these themes, but I can't see any reason why it won't work - the absurd nature of musicals could easily be fit into the somewhat strange setting of spaceships and/or dragons...
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world" - Calvin.
Reply to message
Obviously I have musicals on the brain. - 31/01/2010 06:36:33 AM 900 Views
Musicals are tricky things to do - 31/01/2010 07:57:44 AM 634 Views
Dr. Horribles' Sing A Long Blog - 31/01/2010 08:37:37 AM 640 Views
I think so. - 31/01/2010 04:25:27 PM 599 Views
There is a musical episode of buffy.... - 31/01/2010 09:50:22 AM 739 Views
Very interesting question. - 31/01/2010 12:19:51 PM 839 Views
Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide stories were originally radio plays - 31/01/2010 06:16:42 PM 744 Views
Nonsense. - 31/01/2010 07:22:25 PM 624 Views
I feel like I'm a broken record, telling you to re-read what I actually said - 31/01/2010 08:40:17 PM 635 Views
Yes, well, it was a fairly weak defense when you started using it. - 31/01/2010 09:23:49 PM 735 Views
I think you're underestimating the number of theater fans - 31/01/2010 10:00:52 PM 651 Views
I'd have to agree with you - it has become more of a niche. - 31/01/2010 10:16:02 PM 646 Views
I don't know, I've seen a theater adaptation of The Hobbit, for instance... - 31/01/2010 10:11:47 PM 673 Views
Not quite sure what I was thinking about cinema either. My defense was that it was 3 in the morning. - 31/01/2010 10:26:03 PM 584 Views
Good excuse. - 31/01/2010 10:39:13 PM 776 Views
Yes it is. - 01/02/2010 02:25:44 AM 820 Views
I would definitely count Little Shop of Horrors among some sort of sf/f mold. - 01/02/2010 12:56:40 AM 787 Views
Definitely. But again, it's campy and ludicrous. - 01/02/2010 02:25:00 AM 685 Views
Well, of course. That's what makes it awesome. - 01/02/2010 04:57:07 AM 689 Views
Re: Well, of course. That's what makes it awesome. - 01/02/2010 07:58:32 AM 668 Views
There are tons of them - 01/02/2010 08:37:35 AM 830 Views
Good point. - 01/02/2010 10:28:07 PM 731 Views
It is 19th century and it is opera . . . .. - 02/02/2010 06:55:28 PM 741 Views
Return to the Forbidden Planet - 06/02/2010 10:45:49 AM 823 Views
Yes, Wicked does. *NM* - 07/02/2010 04:19:56 AM 252 Views

Reply to Message