I could be mistaken, but after listening to one of the songs from Pasek and Paul's new musical "Dogfight", I'm pretty sure it's based on the movie. When I first read that their next project was called "Dogfight", I wondered if it was going to be based on the movie. Take a listen to the song, it sounds very much like what Rose would be signing after she ran home from the "dogfight".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5fMOEOuMrU
OK, it's been 2 1/2 years, minivan, but you were totally right. Dogfight the musical is opening off-Broadway at Second Stage this Monday night (7/16/12). I saw it this week in previews and it's beautifully done. The only major difference from the movie is that Okie has been cut, so Birdlace only has two friends instead of 3. Otherwise the adaptation is quite faithful, and entire passages of dialogue remain from the movie. And the actors are amazing..
The score by Pasek and Paul is simply gorgeous. Watch the movie again and try to figure out where the songs are. It's seems impossible to me that these men saw the film and thought they could musicalize it, but they did, and what they came up with is quite lovely. I don't think anyone who is a fan of the movie will think the musical slaughtered it, as so often happens with adapted source material.
Second Stage is a long-established and well-respected theatre company, and many of their shows have successfully transferred to Broadway over the years. I expect Dogfight may be the next.
Check out this interview with Lyndsay Mendez, who plays Rose And even looks like Lily Taylor, only taller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRs62SaMWA
Behind the scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx26Sd92A8E&feature=relmfu
I, too, saw Dogfight the musical in previews. I thought it was quite good. I hadn't seen the movie when I saw the musical, but I watched the film on iTunes the other day. The musical definitely sticks pretty close to the film and, amazingly, captures the the wonderful tender romance between Birdlace and Rose. Derek Klena (Birdlace) and Lindsay Mendez (Rose) were both great.
Here's another version of "Pretty Funny" (sung by Shoshana Bean), the touching song which ends the first act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IwmyfkodQM
The show has received good reviews. Hopefully it will get a Broadway transfer, or at least an extended run. And hopefully it will make more people aware of the film.
I don't know, maybe it's just the performance I saw, but I didn't like it. It didn't have the heart of the movie. And a lot of the things that I liked from the movie fell flat here. But maybe I'm biased cuz Dogfight is one of my favorite movies, it's so perfect. I was hoping it'd be good, but I didn't like it.
The musical is VERY good and entertaining, but it lacks the simplicity of the film. The tone is much more ostentacious in comparison to the film, so it's hard to compare.
The film is better, but I think the musical is a good reimagining of the story, and the writers did a good job of trying to dig into the minds of the characters.
How dare you speak to the prince of evil that way, you SLUT?