Which do yall like better? I have a theory, wether it be a book turned movie, a movie turned play, or a play turned movie, which ever you see first is the one u like best. I saw the play first, and I must say I like it much better than the movie (I like the movie too, but u can't beat the play). There is much more singing in the play as well.
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Grease
I totally agree!
I can't believe they based the play off the movie, they're so different. But nonetheless I think the play was much better. More music, characters and it made much more sense!
If they ever remake the movie, I think it should be based off the play.
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Although I had not seen the play, it think it is good. But no one in the play can beat the marvelous Julie Andrews. No matter how good the play is, I still prefer the movie.
shareI saw the movie as a really little kid so I'm a little biased toward it. As far as I'm concerned no one can beat Julie Andrews and Carol Channing. The stage version is fantastic in it's own way (actually my dance teacher was part of the test-run cast at the La Jolla Playhouse in CA and was invited to be in the OBC but declined) and Sutton Foster is awesome. It was a cute, entertaining show and I loved every minute of it. However, as I've said before...I've been a movie fan for much longer and so it will always come first in my heart, but that's just me
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The play beats the movie hands down. I saw the play on Broadway early in it's run. I'd already seen the movie. The movie was one of the reasons I picked that play to go to. Anyhoo, while Julie Andrews is great, Sutton Foster was absolutely amazing as Millie in the play version. The play version also has a lot more music, and it's also alot funnier. They changed some elements that really added to the humor. The movie version is good, but the play version is great.
shareThe play is much better in my opinion. I was so sad about a lot of the differences:
-The Speed Test!!! Way way better than "baby face" and so very funny!
-Forget about the boy!!! Great number, not in the movie, added for the theatrical version.
-Mrs. Meers being a white actress.
-Muzzy being the one who pretends to be doped (and really is pretending)
-"I turned the corner and I'm falling in love with someone" Jimmy and Millie on the edge of the building. He says he'll jump if she doesn't go out with her.
-"What do I need with love?" - Hilarious number. Jimmy and Millie in jail, Jimmy fretting over falling in love.
-"Not for the life of me" Millie, at the very beginning of the show.
I can't believe I'm the only one to prefer the movie on a movie board!
I've always found the movie absolutely hilarious, and I was thrilled to find out that it was being produced for the theatre. Unfortunately, though, I thought the stage version missed the point. The movie is a satire, with an outrageous plotline that isn't supposed to make sense, over-the-top characters, and visual gags that were a delightful send-up of the silent film era. The stage adaptation, I felt, went for comedy without satire and, in my opinion, simply didn't succeed. Sutton Foster was brilliant, of course, but I missed the bite of the original.
While I love the movie, I have to agree with Forbidden Broadway's assessment of the stage adaptation. "Thoroughly Modern Millie - The worst best musical ever!"
As a side note, what was up with the changed ending, with Miss Dorothy leaving Trevor Grayden for one of the Chinese Laundrymen? What are we supposed to take from that? Selling girls into white slavery is okay as long as you love your mother?
~This is almost touching what the beauty is.~
I definitely prefer the movie to the play. So many classic moments!
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I grew up with the movie and loving it (although the last sequence with the fireworks is just plain ridiculous).
I was worried about the musical, but as soon as I got the soundtrack in 2002 I was in love. And I got to see it on Broadway with Sutton and Gavin and the rest, so of course I was smitten for life.
In a strict competition, the musical wins hands down, but I do love both for what they are.
I wish the touring show of the musical had been better. It was just *meh*, and I think everyone who saw it because I raved about it wondered what the heck was wrong with me.
The show to me is one of the best ever written. Clever lyrics, re-hearable tunes, dancing, costumes, humor...leaves you wanting nothing more.
I loved both the play and the movie. The play was great on Broadway and wins out over the movie. However, I wouldn't ever say it was anywhere the best musical ever written. That has to go to Cabaret (my fave musical of all time). There are other musicals that are better too like Les Mis, Phantom, Chicago, Gypsy. I think Millie is probably the BEST feel-good musical ever written, but not the best musical overall.
shareI'll give the stage version credit for various improvements, such as removing the extraneous Jewish Wedding Song and the bruising, unfunny "let's-beat-up-the-Chinese-guys" finale. Removing Millie's line to Jimmy ("I don't want to be your equal; I want to be a woman") is also a plus. Other improvements are the sensational "Forget About The Boy" number and the hilarious Act II scene in which Muzzy tries to pass herself off as a sweet young thing who's come to the Priscilla Hotel straight from the orphanage ("Did you walk?" an incredulous Mrs. Meers asks). Best of all, Mrs. Meers' cohorts have been dimensionalized and given names (Ching Ho & Bun Foo) - a HUGE improvement over the walking cliches (billed as Oriental #1 and Oriental #2) they were in the film.
However, in spite of all these virtues, the stage version simply can't compete with the film's charismatic star power (Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing and Beatrice Lillie) and sense of style (the film's color scheme, consisting primarily of blacks, whites, greys and reds, is far more arresting than what appeared on the Broadway stage). Millie & Jimmy meet far more charmingly in the film (at the Friendship Dance) than they do on stage (an encounter on the street); the meeting in the film also allows Jimmy to make a more engaging first impression. But the stage version's biggest blunder is to have Miss Dorothy dump Trevor for Ching Ho; it's far too abrupt and makes nonsense of the "Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life" courtship the stage version has spent so much time developing. The audience has been led to believe Trevor is the "real thing" for Miss Dorothy, and suddenly Miss Dorothy is saying that Ching Ho is the "real thing" - which leaves the audience with an impression that Miss Dorothy will probably meet someone tomorrow who will be her NEW "real thing." As a result, the sweet & innocent Miss Dorothy of the film has been transformed into a capricious floozie; it's a story idea that should have been discarded after five minutes.
Obviously neither the film or the stage version is perfect, but - given a choice - I'll take the film.
Cloudburst, I agree with all your faves...but Phantom? Please. I really do not think that should be at the top of the list. You are obviouslya Bway lover, so you are an exception, but all the people I know who have Phantom as their favorite musical...do not really no Broadway very well.
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I wasn't actually saying Phantom was one of my favorites. I was just saying that it is a better over-all musical than TMM. My favorite musical is Cabaret followed by Les Mis and then Gypsy(though I was thouroughly disappointed with the Gypsy production that I saw on Broadway -- Bernadette Peters was great as was the guy who played Herbie but the rest of the cast was totally lackluster. I've seen better productions of it off Broadway. It was definitely not a Broadway-caliber performance. I was expecting to be wowed and I was sooo disappointed. :(
shareThoroughly Modern Millie is the best musical / movie in the world!
((wicked comes next... then sound of music... then rent...))
The movie is... amazing. It is simply amazing. You can not beat Julie Andrews! The movie is sweet (love it when millie and jimmy meet), but in its way so is the musical. "What Do I need with love" is the sweetest song in the musical, and i think thats one of the sweetest scenes! Its so adorable when they are in jail and talking...
i don't think i could pick between the two
i watch the movie all the time, i can't get enough of it!
but i feel the same way for the musical
i mean, i literaly listen to TMM music 24/7
i wake up to it and sleep to it!
sutton foster and gavin creel ((i love him...:) ))
and
julie andrews and james fox ((i love his eyes.. !!! :) ))
make incredible millies and jimmys
and could never be replaced correctly!
..except, a butterfly boy is exactly what i need...
Oh my goodness! I have like the exact same favorites!! Except that Rent and Wicked are also stuck in there. Lol, but I'm still a true Broadway lover. I saw Gypsy on Broadway twice, I saw the latest Original cast, and I don't really remember it, and I wasn't very impressed by Bernadette Peters (sorry if I'm thinking of the wrong cast!) but Iw as blown away the 2nd time I saw it.
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If you saw the latest original cast of Gypsy than that was Bernadette Peters. I thought she did okay and the Herbie guy did well, the rest was not memorable however. And I really loved Rent too.
The actual best-acted musical that I've ever seen on Broadway was The Producers. I was lucky enough to snag tickets when Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprised their roles for a three month engagement in 2004. They were awesome together on stage.
I don't live anywhere near NYC. I live in Kentucky, but we try to take a NYC trip every two to three years for Broadway...and of course, shopping. We're actually goingo to NYC twice this year. I haven't seen Wicked yet. That's one of the ones we're going to see this summer. We're also seeing The Pirate Queen, A Chorus Line, and seeing Les Mis again...and probably one other show that we won't decide on 'til we get there. Almost one show per night...YAY!!! We'll also be going to NYC around Christmas for my cousin's wedding. He lives in Brooklyn. We're seeing Grease then, another show that we won't decide until we get there, and Mary Poppins/the Lion King/Beauty and the Beast...one of these three will be the show that the family takes the kids who come to the wedding to. I don't think Rent is really appropriate for them :D
You're so lucky that you get a theatre-devoted trip! I live in jersey, so obviously I go to NYC a LOT. I've seen many Broadway shows, of course, but not in one weekend! Well, actually I once went to the city and I saw 2 shows in 3 days: Les Miz &Phantom (guess which one was better! lol) but that's cool that you're seeing all of that in one setting.
I haven't seen the Pirate Queen, but let me tell you, A Chorus Line is AMAZING! I've only ever seen the [crappy] movie, and I'm a lover of the OBC soundtrack, and it was amazing. Wicked, As I said is phenomenal, and Mary Poppins is adorable!
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Yeah, I'm really looking forward to Wicked and A Chorus Line. I already know I'll love Les Mis seeing as it is the best musical ever after Cabaret. The Pirate Queen I'm kinda iffy about. We got tix for it mainly due to Sutton Foster because we LOVED her as Millie.
And I'm hoping for Mary Poppins over Christmas, but since I don't have any kids, it's up to the actual parents to decide what to take the kids to. I really think they'd probably enjoy Mary Poppins more than The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast. Mary Poppins just seems more suitable for a wider age range in kids than the other two shows. And I've already seen the other two so I really want to see Mary Poppins ;p
But the one I'm really looking forward to over Christmas is Grease. I've only seen the stage show once. It was performed by a local college, and they were so bad it was embarrassing. It was actually cringe-worthy. They slaughtered it. I think a high school could have put on a better production of the show than the college did. I'm really looking forward to seeing a good production of that show to blot out that horrid production of it.
I saw the movie first, but when I saw the play I thought it was just amazing! I absolutely adore the play, it was just incredible!
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I just love the movie, as a little girl I would spend a lot of time at my grandparents and my eccentric grandmother and I would always watch it if it was on. I have wonderful memories of it. For my 40th birthday my mother, who knew how special the movie was for me, took me to see the play and I just loved it as well. The play was great but the movie will always hold a special place in my heart.
shareThe stage play cannot hold a candle to the film. The stage version seemed to me to have been manufactured to specifications arrived at in market research focus groups. I LOATHED it.
Especially when they did not even give a credit in the program to Sir Arthur Sullivan's (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) music for the patter song number. (It was originally "My Eyes Are Fully Open" from G & S's "Ruddigore.") OK, so it's old enough to be out of copyright, but Sullivan still wrote the music and that should have been acknowledged.
The play was a safe, vanilla affair. It lacked the zany, goofball fun of the movie. I have no problems with the play, but seeing it once was more than enough.
In the movie, Muzzie was hysterical and freaky funny. In the play she was so uninteresting and her songs were dreadful.