You may be familiar with the musical RENT and the tragic death of its creator, Jonathan Larson, shortly before its premiere Off-Broadway, but there’s more to Larson’s legacy as a musical theatre writer and composer that you may not know. Let’s explore how Larson’s influence inspired some of the artists that came after him, and the impact his works have left on the genre as a whole. Katya also recommends the following article for your post-episode reading pleasure: https://www.vox.com/culture/22787502/tick-tick-boom-lin-manuel-miranda-jonathan-larson

In the conclusion to our first two-part episode, Katya examines two musicals in particular that were adapted into movies, and why she thinks they missed the mark. A warning: if you have strong positive feelings about the film adaptations of Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, you will not like what Katya has to say about them… Regardless, you can find tickets and info for AOMT’s Fringe Festival show, “Perils of Penzance!” here: https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:7502/

Katya examines what it takes to successfully adapt a stage musical for film from the perspective of a theatre fan, with examples from across the decades. Perhaps some of what she considers to be the best film adaptations of musicals may not be what you’d expect…