This morning on the way to work, my iPod was playing my “Last Played > 18mos” list and chose “Everything Old is New Again” from “The Boy from Oz”… and the song gave me the topic for today’s lunchtime post. We’re all aware of movies being made into stage vehicles, but we rarely think about the half-hour sitcom. Still, there have been numerous attempts—from The Real Live Brady Bunch (and, of course, A Very Brady Musical), to a Gilligan’s Island musical. There was also CHiPs: The Musical. This week’s news and email brings some more reports of TV series finding their way to the stage…
Zach and Screech are back in the “Bayside High School Musical“… yup, Saved by the Bell – The Musical by any other name.
It’s the 60th anniversary of “Rickyyyyyyy”, and that brings us “I Love Lucy On Stage“, a musical tribute to the I Love Lucy show, set in the Desilu Studios where the filming of two episodes of the sitcom takes place, complete with a live host and vintage commercials.
Of course, TV wouldn’t be complete without old comedy re-runs, so the Falcon Theatre is bringing us “Laurel and Hardy“, which recreates the duo’s story on stage.
Luckily, we’re spared one show. The Lillian Theatre has announced that the world premier of “Welcome Back, Welcome Back Kotter” has been cancelled. This was to be a show that featured three of the original episodes of the series performed live on stage. Different episodes would vary from week to week so audiences can be ‘welcomed back’ to relive more of their favorite Mr. Kotter memories.
