http://faerye.net/tag/musical 2006-03-24T12:12:16+00:00 Felicity Shoulders http://faerye.net/ http://faerye.net/post/when-did-musicals-become-marketing-tie-ins 2006-03-24T12:12:16+00:00 2008-06-08T14:26:42+00:00 <p>I think I&#8217;ll blame Disney for this. Disney has made millions of dollars by parlaying successful films and characters into &#8216;experiences&#8217;, and the musical versions of <em>The Lion King</em> and <em>Beauty and the Beast</em> are essentially Disney experiences that range around the country instead of staying in one place exerting gravitational pull on children and wallets.</p> <p>But <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> needed a musical? Good God in Heaven. Only incredible composition makes <em>Les Mis&eacute;rables</em> work as a musical (and it barely does, if you&#8217;ve read the book), and it, at least, has a deeply personal story at its core, with epic elements draped around it. All seven volumes of <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> in one play? And they&#8217;re surprised <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4841976.stm" target="links"> it&#8217;s getting bad reviews</a>?</p> <p>Sheesh, people. If you crave epic Ring musicals that much, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_cycle" target="links">get your Wagner on</a>.</p>