I've read great reviews about in The New York Times. Ask me about the plot of last year's best musical, Contact , or 1999's winner, Fosse , and I'll change the subject to Zombie Prom at Circuit Playhouse. The contradiction, of course, is that movies have long been blamed for killing live theater. But producers know that movie-based scripts can attract both movie and theater lovers. It makes sense to use stories people are familiar with.
Cultural critics have yet to take a close look at the process of turning movies into theater.
In August, Memphis will finally get to see the 1998 Tony award-winning play, Art . The 1999 winner, Side Man , opened this weekend. New York holds back new work for too long. And there's nothing like the elitist Tony Awards to heap a stinky mound of guilt upon those culture-hungry people who want to get out and see new work but can't travel to New York four times a year. So that's why I want the movie to win.