Skip to content

Showbits

News, reviews & commentary on sci-fi & fantasy movies & shows

Menu
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Categories
    • Films
      • Reviews
      • Trailers
    • Star Trek
    • Television
    • Humor
    • Celebrities
      • Fade to Black
    • Potpourri
    • Star Wars
Menu

Move Like a Butterfly

Posted on Feb 4, 2007Feb 1, 2022 by Ken Gagne

It's generally agreed, even within the annals of this blog, that a story's source material — be it book, play, or film — will almost always prove superior to any new medium to which it is adapted.

I witnessed that gulf this weekend, when I saw a live theater version of the 1973 film The Sting. Having recently seen and enjoyed this classic film starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman as con artists, I was looking forward to seeing a fresh performance.

There were a few variations on the original script that I didn't expect. Some added to the experience, such as the story being framed as the flashback of an older woman. Others detracted, such as the two handkerchiefs Johnny Hooker switched in the opening con being different colors… talk about insulting the audience!

Such changes were minor compared to two shadows cast by the film, though. The play's impact and tension were diminished by my recent memories of the movie; what had originally surprised me was, of course, predictable the second time around. But most noticeable was the absence of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. In that respect, I cannot fault the actors who adopted those icons' roles for a weekend performance. I instead fault whoever conceived the notion that The Sting's script could stand apart from the actors who made it famous. I perhaps also fault myself for being unable to separate the two; surely I do community actors a disservice for holding them up to the standards of Hollywood, and myself the disservice of being unable to appreciate what those actors are offering.

A few years ago, I saw the play Wit performed at Harvard Law School. It was done well, but even given the different medium, it's hard to accept one storyteller's ability as equal or superior to Emma Thompson's. The caveat here is that Wit is a play adapted to film, not vice versa. So perhaps my prejudice is to accept whatever version I saw first as definitive.

Surely the concept of films performed live is not itself flawed. The flood of Hollywood scripts being adapted to Broadway musicals — The Producers, Spamalot, The Princess Bride — suggests that films can make the transition to live theater. But the three plays I listed underwent vast rewriting, expansion, and adaption to become musicals, something they previously were not. The end product was not an old experience in a new setting, but an entirely new experience altogether.

Through no fault of its performers, The Sting was not similarly invigorated, and in transitioning to community theater, sadly lost its prick.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Tags: Broadway, community theater, Emma Thompson, Harvard, Paul Newman, play, Robert Redford, Sting, Wit

1 thought on “Move Like a Butterfly”

  1. peterw says:
    Feb 5, 2007 at 6:25 am

    I don't recall that I've ever seen one, but I have a lot of trouble picturing a successful transition from movie to stage for just about any performance.

    On the other hand, I think there's a much greater chance of success going from stage to screen. For example, I can't actually imagine what The Sound of Music must have been like just on the stage!

    A key word you used was expansion. There's probably a reasonable chance of success where the new medium expands in some way on what went before. That's easy enough for a movie with its almost unlimited "scenery" budget (and sheer space within a scene). However it must be tougher when you have to condense things down, which may explain the relative lack of success going from screen to stage.

    0

Comments are closed.

Categories

  • Films (143)
  • Star Trek (88)
  • Reviews (86)
  • Television (84)
  • Humor (52)

Tags

  • holiday (33)
  • TNG (29)
  • summer shorts (27)
  • Christmas (25)
  • parody (25)

Year

  • 2022 (1)
  • 2021 (16)
  • 2020 (3)
  • 2019 (3)
  • 2018 (1)

Recent Posts

  • Ted Lasso and the Missing Christmas Mustache
  • A Pandemic Year of Moviegoing & Star Trek
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage to Alameda
  • Take care of yourself for Christmas 2020
  • Televisions shows for the pandemic
  • WordPress: The Final Frontier
  • Picard Will Make It So
  • Remembering Carroll Spinney
  • Reuniting The Next Generation's cast
  • A Christmas aboard the Enterprise NX-01

Recent Comments

  • peterw on WordPress: The Final Frontier
  • peterw on A Star Trek Christmas with family
  • Ken Gagne on Rogue One is a one-hit wonder

Archives

News

  • CNN.com
  • ComingSoon.net
  • Dead or Alive?
  • STARTREK.COM
  • Superman News
  • TheForce.Net
  • Trek Nation

Resources

  • American Film Institute
  • Apple Trailers
  • Box Office Prophets
  • DVD Price Search
  • IMDb
  • Movie Mistakes
  • MPAA
  • Oracle of Bacon
  • RiffTrax
  • Rotten Tomatoes
  • TV Shows on DVD

Theater & Acting

  • Boston Casting
  • C.P. Casting
  • LDI Casting
  • NE Theater 411
© 2023 Showbits | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme