Top 10 Musicals NBC should produce

It’s been confirmed that NBC will air another live musical broadcast in 2014 after their Sound Of Music broadcast was viewed over 18 million viewers. In order to get ready for next year, I’ve put together a top ten list of musicals that NBC should consider for their next broadcast keeping in concideration the target audience (sadly no Spring Awakening or Sweeney Todd for instance), music and doability.

But before we get to the list, there are two footnotes I’d like to get out of the way.

This IS a list of musicals that I think NBC should consider for next year. That being said, this is NOT my best guess as to what NBC will actually produce. All signs point to NBC producing another classic, Rodgers & Hammerstein-like show like “Peter Pan” and “South Pacific.”

But in my list I wanted to show a different kind of musical that would still be popular with viewers and feasible to produce for a live broadcast. Because of that, I purposely didn’t include many of those titles. I also left out shows that were totally overdone (So no Annie for instance), shows that are passé (*cough* Cats *cough*) or ones that have been seen on a national platform recently (like Hairspray or Phantom Of The Opera).

With that out of the way, in no particular order, here’s my top ten musicals that NBC should produce in 2014.

Image Courtesy of NBC Universal

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Cinderella

What’s It About?: This Rogers & Hammerstein-penned classic retells the Perrault fairy tale about a poor orphaned girl, her mean step sisters, a magical fairy god mother, a handsome prince and a glass slipper. I think you know the rest.

What’s The Music Like? Some of Cinderella’s famous score include “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible” and “Ten Minutes Ago.” It’s Rogers & Hammerstein meets fairy tale, so the whole score is lush, beautiful and chock full of old Broadway pizzazz.

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? The Cinderella musical was originally written for TV in 1957 as a star vehicle for Julie Andrews and was later remade in 1965 (with Leslie Ann Warren) and 1997 (with Brandy and Whitney Houston), so the play is literally tailor made for this kind of production. Plus, a re-written, modernized version (with a new book by Douglas Carter Beane) hit Broadway in 2013 and was nominated for nine Tony Awards. The large cast would also allow Broadway favorites to star alongside some great comedic talent from the world of TV/film.

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In The Heights

What’s It About?: In The Heights, written and originally starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, tells the tale of Usnavi, a friendly bodega owner in Washington Heights. Through his eyes we meet the other colorful residence of the barrio including a college freshman, a cocky cab driver, a nosy hairdresser and the beloved neighborhood abuela.

What’s The Music Like? The Latin-spiced soundtrack includes songs like “96,000,” “No Me Diga” and “Breathe” that fuse together hip-hop, rap and a whole host of South American genres.

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? ITH is the newest musical on the list but it captures an old Broadway spirit and combines it with 21st century sounds. With great dance numbers, some really funny material and a very universal, heartwarming plot, Heights would resonate with a large audience, even those who generally dislike “show tunes.” Besides, the entire show takes place on one block, so it’d be easy to translate to the screen. I think many readers would call for Miranda to reprise his Broadway role, but (while I love him in the role) I’d love to see some talented young newcomers breath new life into the material. Among the fresh faces, might I suggest Sofia Vergara for Daniela and Tony Plana as Kevin?

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Beauty & The Beast

What’s It About?: The musical closely follows the 1991 animated film about bookworm Belle who becomes prisoner in an enchanted castle run by a beast whose grotesque physique will only be transformed through true love.

What’s The Music Like? The stage version combined songs from the movie like “Be Our Guest” and “Gaston” with new tunes like “If I Can’t Love Her.” Written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, the beautiful, lush score is fun and family friendly but sophisticated enough for adult ears.

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? The musical ran for over 5,000 performances on Broadway and has been done countless times around the world since its premiere in 1993, which means it’d be popular for a TV audience too. More than any other musical on this list, it’d allow NBC to bring some razzle-dazzle to the party yet still retain a real sense of heart.

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The Secret Garden

What’s It About?: Based on the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, The Secret Garden follows young Mary Lennox, who must move in with her mysterious uncle Archibald after her parents die of cholera. There, at his neglected old English estate, Mary discovers a long-hidden garden and a whole new outlook on life.

What’s The Music Like? The Lucy Simon/Marsha Norman-penned score includes gorgeous, haunting songs like “Lily’s Eyes,” “The Girl I Meant To Be” and “Wick.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? While it’s probably the least known musical on the list, TSG is a beloved story that translates very well into the world of musical theater. With a striking score and a book that mixes humor, whimsy and tragedy, the show could capture both the musical theater crowd and Downton Abby fans. The cast, too, would allow some young performers to play against veteran thespians (I’d go with SVU’s Raul Esparza as Master Craven).

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Once Upon A Mattress

What’s It About?: OUAM takes the Princess And The Pea fairy tale and retells it using a uncouth, loud princess, a mamma’s boy for a prince and his domineering mother and his mute father.

What’s The Music Like? The show is chock full of witty and quirky songs like “Shy,” “In A Little While” and “The Swamps of Home.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? While ABC produced a lackluster version of OUAM a few years ago, the show deserves another shot with the general public. It uses familiar fairy tale tropes but skewers them into a wildly entertaining and heartwarming show perfect for all ages. For my money, Taran Killam would make a killer Dauntless.

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Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

What’s It About?: It’s a modern retelling of the Genesis Bible story of Joseph whose fabulous coat of many colors causes contention in his family and kick starts a miraculous journey that leads him all the way to Pharaoh of Egypt.

What’s The Music Like? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s eclectic score dabbles in just about every genre imaginable from country to pop to reggae. Popular songs include “Any Dream Will Do,” “Close Every Door” and “Go, Go, Go Joseph.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? A popular mainstay in schools and community theaters, Joseph has a fun, jaunty score and loads of humor and kitsch, plus the inherent staginess of the production would make it easy to reproduce on screen. The large cast, too, would allow for many famous cameos along with Broadway-level performers.

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Into The Woods

What’s It About?: Weaving together multiple fairy tales – from Cinderella to
Rapunzel to Little Red Riding Hood – Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine create a whole new story about how obtaining your one true wish can have strange and unexpected consequences.

What’s The Music Like? With clever and beautiful lyrics, intricate melodies and memorable songs, Sondheim’s (arguably) most user-friendly score contains such songs as “Children Will Listen,” “Giants In The Sky” and “Agony.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? Sondheim is perhaps the most important musical theater composer since Rodgers & Hammerstein, so no list would be complete without one of his shows. Woods has been a popular musical theater staple, has twice appeared on Broadway and a feature film with Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick is currently in production. But a TV version might be a great way to introduce audiences to the magic of Sondheim and involve a large cast, all wrapped up in a familiar fairy tale story subverted brilliantly to tale a whole new kind of story.

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Wicked

What’s It About?: Loosely based on Gregory McGuire’s novel, Wicked gives backstory to Elphaba, the green-skinned resident of Oz, who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

What’s The Music Like? Stephen Schwartz’s pop/rock inspired score includes hits like “Defying Gravity,” “I’m Not That Girl” and “For Good.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? Wicked has been a hit around the world since its premiere in 2003, with audiences around the world responding to the story about friendship and the dangerous and unexpected repercussions for seemingly innocent actions. A film adaptation has been in the works for quite some time now, so maybe TV is the perfect home for this show. Plus, Lea Michele would make a fantastic on-screen Elphie.

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West Side Story

What’s It About?: WSS transplants the Romeo & Juliet narrative into inner-city New York where a member of an all-white gang falls head over heals for a member of a rival Puerto Rican gang.

What’s The Music Like? Leonard Bernstein’s ingenious score, which integrates Latin rhythms into 1950s musical theater, includes such standards as “Somewhere,” “America” and “I Feel Pretty.”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? WSS is a timeless story told with bold romance, drama and humor by Bernstein, Sondheim and Laurents and, since it’s been decades since the (beautiful but dated) film came out, it’s time for a new audience to discover this musical theater gem.

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Fiddler On The Roof

What’s It About?: Fiddler followed Tevye, a provincial Russian milkman, who must take care of his large family in the midst of a changing cultural landscape and dangerous pre-pogrom political scene.

What’s The Music Like? The score by Bock and Harnick includes such classic musical theater mainstays as “If I Were A Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and “To Life (L’Chaim).”

Why Would It Be Good For NBC? While Fiddler may be a show about a Jewish community and Jewish traditions, the themes are so universal that Fiddler has played to packed houses all around the world since 1964. Speaking of 1964, next year will be 10 years since it’s debut, so a TV broadcast would be the perfect way to celebrate the anniversary, especially because it hasn’t been done on film since the ‘70s. With a gorgeous score, smart book and relatable story, Fiddler might be the best bet for a 2014 broadcast. I can’t take credit for this, since I saw it on Twitter, but Homeland’sMandy Patinkin would make the perfect Tevye. He’s known to TV audiences, is a Tony winning actor/singer, knows his Judaism (Mandy learned Yiddish to record his 1998 CD “Mamaloshen”) and already has the beard!

Honorable Mentions:” Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Seussical,” “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Guys & Dolls.”

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