Critics Notebook: Adaptations abound in Twin Cities theater this season — and it’s awesome
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The forthcoming season of theater in the Twin Cities is full of stage adaptations of existing material — for example, you’re now able to see Marty McFly go back in time onstage, rather than onscreen, in “Back to the Future: The Musical.”
There are practical reasons for this, which I will discuss, but adaptations have their own merits.
One of my most memorable encounters with adaptation was seeing “Crazy Rich Asians.” It came out in 2018, the summer before my freshman year of college. It has since become one of my favorite movies — to the point that every plane ride warrants a required viewing.
It would not be for another five years until I read its source material. Had I read Kevin Kwan’s book before seeing the movie, I probably would have skipped it.
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The film focuses on an Asian American game theorist’s experience with the rich and famous of Singapore — exploring service to your family while staying true to yourself. The novel interweaves several plotlines of minor characters to stretch out the page count to over 300 pages. Kevin Kwan’s story is more focused on the absurdity of money — both old and new. It often bored me. But it reaffirmed a belief of mine:
Adaptations are a particular art and can exceed their source material.
This belief will be tested by the upcoming theater season in the Twin Cities, which has just kicked off.
This week, Hennepin Arts opened the touring production of “Back to the Future.” The show has been adapted for the stage by the creators of the film. Bob Gale — who co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Zemeckis — has returned to pen the stage script, and the film’s composer Alan Silvestri teamed up with Broadway’s Glen Ballard to write original songs for the show. Because of this, the musical is very close to its source material.
Adaptations make up the majority of the shows to be presented by Hennepin Arts this season, including the reimagined Greek tragedy “Hadestown,” the book-turned-play “Life of Pi” and the world premiere of “Purple Rain.”
Other venues in the metro are also staging adaptations. Theater Mu’s “Fifty Boxes of Earth” recasts Count Dracula as a South Asian immigrant.
There will also be translations, like the Guthrie Theater’s production of “The Lehman Trilogy,” based on a three-act play by Italian playwright Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power. “The Lehman Trilogy” will be in previews starting Sept. 14.
Why adapt?
Practically, the reason to offer adaptations is commercial. Movies like “Back to the Future” and “The Little Mermaid” (which the Ordway opens this winter) have built-in fan bases. Lovers of Disney princesses are likely to be enthralled by Elsa in the Children's Theatre Company’s production of “Frozen,” which closes out its 2024-2025 season.
But not all adaptations have a well-known or huge following among a general audience.
The Jungle Theater in Minneapolis opens “Dinner for One” in December. It’s billed as a 60-minute farce, adapted from a European slapstick TV sketch that’s become a tradition on New Year’s Eve in some countries. It also showed at the Jungle last holiday season — and might become the inventive theater’s mainstay holiday production for years to come.
There are some wholly original works in offer this season. “The Book of Mormon” returns in December to poke fun at organized religion. St. Paul’s History Theatre begins its season with “Behind the Sun,” an autobiographical play about redlining and community building in Minneapolis. (Although, some might argue biographical works are adaptation adjacent.)
Adaptations can explore unique ideas and questions while keeping true to their source material — and can focus on new themes for a different audience.
“Cabaret,” which the Guthrie will present next summer, was adapted from the play “I am a Camera” — itself adapted from the book “Goodbye to Berlin.”
The semi-autobiographical novel details queer life in Germany as Nazism envelops the country. The musical, written a few decades after WWII by three Jewish men, explores how fascism and nationalism rise — and what happens when people actively ignore politics.
I think that adaptors get a bad rap in the arts. A national conversation is occurring about the cultural dominance of sequels and properties based on existing characters — what some have dubbed “superhero fatigue.”
I would argue, however, that the question at the root of the discussion is about quality, rather than where the idea comes from.
Some of the greatest works in the American canon came from inspired individuals who took a crack at reimagining another’s work. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s early success in “Oklahoma” and “South Pacific” were both adaptations — “Green Grow the Lilacs” and “Tales of the South Pacific,” respectively. “The Godfather” was a bestseller before it was an Oscar-winning film and made a star of Al Pacino.
I imagine some within the Minnesota audience will bemoan the number of adaptations and “inspired by real-life” stories we will see this year. I am far more excited to see how theaters in the cities will take on the challenges of presenting an adaptation — and if these adaptations can elevate the work.
