Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Harry Potter - The Musical?

The wife and I recently saw Wicked at the Pantages in Hollywood. Now before you tag me as a "Hello Buffy" (old commercial reference) I will tell you that before I met my wife I never considered going to musicals.

Now this may always be the case with husbands but guess what guys, I still have my nads!

A few years ago we saw The Lion King and came away pretty impressed. It was a good show. We were big fans of the movie. to be honest though it was really REALLY difficult to get over the prancing humans dressed up as animals.

The reason I really enjoyed The Lion King though was the voices. Those performers can sing. Forget the crap you hear on the radio or the heavily edited voices you hear on your CD's and MP3's. This stuff is live and it gives you goosebumps.

So when my wife showed interest in Wicked, I was quick to agree. Never a fan of The Wizard of Oz but old enough to know the story, I figured I would give it a chance.

Wow!

I had NEVER heard live performances by voices like that. The voices were impeccable, every note was spot on and the characters were endearing. After the show I searched for stuff on YouTube and they were different performers. They didn't hit the notes we heard earlier that evening and was a little disappointed that a classic performance like that was not recorded. They have a CD you can buy but it doesn't sound quite the same and it isn't even the same people.

How does this tie to Harry Potter? Well, I'm a pretty big fan of J.K. Rowling's seven book series and definitely a fan of the movies. During the Wicked musical there were many scenes that took place in a school much like the one Harry Potter attends in that story.

For those of you who have never read the books then you may be surprised to note that there are a LOT of songs in them, especially in the first few books. They don't ever really come through on film too well so I don't blame them for excluding them. The thought came to my wife and I while we were watching Wicked that it would be really cool to see a Harry Potter musical many years from now.

The next 2 (or 3 if they split the last) Harry Potter movies will be released in the next couple of years and the tale will be complete. Fans of the series, and those of them that grew up with Harry Potter, will be hungry for more. A retelling of the tale in this form would be immensely popular. Or they could do the same thing they have done with OZ and relive the life of Tom Riddle (Voldemort.)

Why wouldn't they? There is a musical for Legally Blonde! I mean please!!!

UPDATE: Apparently there is already a Harry Potter musical in the works. I'm not surprised. I really hope it is done right.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why you need to reassure that you still have your nads. Just because you've seen some musical doesn't mean your "man card" should be revoked.

Anyway, I've never been to a musical, but have been to a play. The Giver (based on that book by Lois Lowry). It was required for me to go to this for my ESL class. Yeah, they made the mistake of putting me in a torturous ESL class. Probably because of the British+Indian accent I had. It was a great experience for me, it was pretty cool to see a book I had read as a play. I'd definitely go to a musical. IF I knew anyone else I know was interested.

Iris said...

Awww man, when you mentioned the Harry Potter musical, I totally thought that it would be a great idea for a musical. And then you confirmed it?? I really can't wait. I really want to go. I don't even know if it will be good. I hope it's not super expensive. The whole place is gonna be full of kids, I bet LOL!

HektikLyfe said...

>Farhan: I grew up knowing some very insecure guys that would jump at the opportunity to slam one's manliness. So I grew up with that pre-self defense requirement. I would imagine a LOT of girls would be interested. I knew so many in High School that want to see Phantom of the Opera but I felt like it was an insult. XD

>Iris: Full of kids and creepy older ladies.

The Brain Twinkey said...

Musicals and plays are so energetic. I don't see a lot but each time I am hesistant and each time I really enjoy the live excitement. I am also a Potter fan and look forward to seeing them put the final chapters on the silver screen.

BT

http://braintwinkey.blogspot.com

HektikLyfe said...

>Twinkey: Have you read the books? They are planning to split the final story into two movies, how do you feel about that?