Movie, stage or Book first?

Skip the book for now. It contains the worst writing I've ever encountered - that it made an excellent fim and, from what I've read, a good musical, is a tribute to its adaptors.


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thanks Harold, Looking forward to seeing it. EVRRYONE, THOUGHTS ON ANY musical fitting this topic? This is not reserved just for BRIDGES. Discussion open to other shows and their source material as well. ;)

I read the book about 10 years ago and hated it. I saw maybe 45 minutes of the film and then changed the channel. I wasn't expecting to like the musical but I got a rush ticket b/c I love Jason Robert Brown, Kelli O'Hara, Steven Pasquale, and Bartlett Sher. I figured even if the story wasn't good there would be some nice performances and lovely music.

I was shocked at how much I loved the musical. A lot was changed from the source material and those changes were almost all for the better IMO. The book/film is focused on a 4 day affair between an Italian war bride living in Iowa with her family and a travelling photographer. There are a lot of sex scenes and it gets very...saccharine.

That affair is also the central event in the musical, but Marsha Norman's book opened up the story. In the musical we learn how the female protagonist, who grew up in WWII Italy, ended up a farmer's wife in Iowa. We understand why she feels trapped in her life, and why she falls for this photographer when her family is out of town. At the same time, we see her family and understand why she loves them and why she feels like they're sucking the life out of her. Her affair is the catalyst for her to evaluate her life and make a choice. But much of the second act deals with the aftermath of that choice. We see flashes of her life over the next 20-30 years and see how her life and relationships were changed long term as a result. The focus is less on her lover than it is in the book/film, but we also learn where he came from emotionally and how this interlude affected him as well for the rest of his life. Most of that is absent in the book and film, and to me it was the most resonant part of the musical.

I would say it really doesn't matter if you see the book or film first because the basic premise is the same but the execution is very different. I found the musical to be far more emotionally moving. I'm so glad it's getting new life on tour, though I felt like Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale's performances were definitive. I'm sure the tour cast is quite talented though. I hope you enjoy regardless. There's some beautiful music.

I can tell you, if you read Wicked before seeing the show as I did, it will confuse you more than not reading it. Too many changes...

If Lord of the Rings ever is produced again, definitely read the books before seeing it. Fans complained that the 8+ hrs of movies cut too much. Imagine 4+ hrs of a stage play with 45 minutes of songs inserted. Definitely the abridged version...

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I liked the Bridges movie... though I haven't seen it in quite some time. Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood gave really sensitive performances, and it choked me up two or three times.

I wouldn't mind seeing the musical version - but it's not at the top of my list (I'll be looking forward to hearing how you felt about it). I never read the book - but I'm pretty sure it's really short, if I recall.

I like to generally be aware of the songs before I see a musical. I knew ALL of the songs when I saw The Book of Mormon - and it only made it seem more special. It doesn't ruin a plot for me knowing the songs in advance. I don't sometimes click with any song the first time or two I hear it... so being familiar with the songs (at least a little bit) is a plus for me.
I'm not always able to do this, though. Our showing of Matilda has kind of snuck up on me, and with the exception of a couple of the songs I have heard on satellite radio I'll be seeing it completely cold.

I read WiCked before it became a musical. The novel is a college level book that could easily be read/deconstructed in a masters level English course... Very challenging and different from the musical which is very very loosely based on the book.

I haven't seen the musical of the stage musical and the movie wasn't a musical but they turned it into a stage musical and you have already listened to the original broadcast cd but if you want to get an idea of what it could be like then watch the movie first, even through maybe with the stage musical does have some changes from the film as well. Not sure abut the book since I haven't read it, and this sounds something more that females would love more ten males.

~ Usually I always prefer reading the novels first before watching any movie, or play. For instance, I've read the book Wicked before watching the play and I knew it had many changes in the adaptation but I still loved the musical.


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