ANIMAL HOUSE, THE MUSICAL

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by dekeguy

I just read that Universal is developing a new Broadway show - Animal House, the Musical!
In the words of Flounder, "Oh boy, is this going to be great!"
Hopefully they will not go PC and screw it up.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, and I say that as one who loves musical theatre.

Part of what makes Animal House as great as it is are the cast and the period music used in the soundtrack. No stage production would have either.

Granted, I had similar doubts about Spamalot, and I was wrong. But unless the original writers are working on this (and one of them is dead), let the movie be, I say.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, and I say that as one who loves musical theatre.

Part of what makes Animal House as great as it is are the cast and the period music used in the soundtrack. No stage production would have either.

Granted, I had similar doubts about Spamalot, and I was wrong. But unless the original writers are working on this (and one of them is dead), let the movie be, I say.

Similar to "Hairspray" - which also had period music in the soundtrack - the "Animal House" stage production could create original songs "of that period". And specific songs from the film that may be iconic to “Animal House” - the song "Shout" for example - could be included in the stage production.

I think the harder part will be casting. But as long as the stage producers do not try to recreate the “Animal House” characters based on the film actors' interpretation, they could pull this off.

Personally, I’m looking forward to Mandy and Babs singing “A Wimp and a Blimp”.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by TSteven

Similar to "Hairspray" - which also had period music in the soundtrack - the "Animal House" stage production could create original songs "of that period". And specific songs from the film that may be iconic to “Animal House” - the song "Shout" for example - could be included in the stage production.

I did some looking around, and apparently Universal has signed playwright Michael Mitnick to do the book and lyrics and Barenaked Ladies to do the score. I like BNL, but I think something similar to Hairspray would be more likely with someone with more stage and screen experience.

"Shama Lama Ding Dong" might be easier to keep, as it was written for the movie. They'd have to pay for the rights (and give credits) for "Shout," since it's an Isley Brothers song. I'd charge a pretty penny if I owned the rights.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

"Shama Lama Ding Dong" might be easier to keep, as it was written for the movie. They'd have to pay for the rights (and give credits) for "Shout," since it's an Isley Brothers song. I'd charge a pretty penny if I owned the rights.

Kind of off topic, but maybe some of the legal folk out there may know the answer to this.

According to the link SOM provided, the musical is being produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions. Which I suspect is part of Universal Pictures (or their parent company). So generally speaking, are rights to a song only for the one production? Or does a studio own the rights to the song for the current film and any future productions (film or otherwise)?

So in this case, if Universal purchased the rights to “Shout”, are they able to use “Shout” in a “Animal House II” film, “Animal House the T.V. Show” and “Animal House the Broadway Musical”? Or would Universal need to purchase the rights to "Shout" for each individual production?