The audacity which propels anyone to tamper with a classic novel and movie masterpiece, and transform it into a musical version for the theater, is either a creative genius or a fugitive from the nut house. Why else would anyone reconstruct Margaret Mitchell's 1936 well loved novel Gone With the Wind, and the magnificently crafted David Selznick film of the same title in 1939 into song and dance, except to stun the audience in disbelief and suffocate them with unimaginable boredom. The sheer madness that brought this dreadful concept into actual production is perhaps surpassed only by the unembarrassed mediocrity of the music and lyrics performed on stage. 
Audiences worldwide have watched the film more than once, for many, as much as a dozen times; and the visual images, characterizations, and story lines have been so profoundly engraved on the collective consciousness that seeing Rhett Butler break into a song just doesn't register well in the public imagination. And sweet and holy Melanie - weak and dying, but the tragedy of her death is trivialized when she bursts into a song on her deathbed! This is comical. It's as if the Joker came to life hypnotizing the crowd into a state of dumbness, then surrender their brains to make it into high cholesterol burgers.
Trevor Nunn's three and a half hour 4.5 million pounds Production has limitations that diminishes the majesty and intimacy that film can accomplish. The camera could depict the terror on Vivien Leigh's face when she sees the extent of wounded and dying soldiers in the streets; and as the camera pans out, the magnitude of the southern defeat is evident and irreversible. Or, depicting the awesome sight of the burning of Atlanta and close up on Scarlett's expression of determined selfishness and self-preservation. Theater has no means to project this realism. The pathetic stage scene of the burning of Atlanta resembled a backyard barbecue on New Year's Eve!
Critics have not been bowled over by the long winded yet distracting songs with forgettable melodies and hackneyed lyrics. The expected explosive chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett that could have saved the production didn't materialize. The towering drama, the physical presence, and the electrifying performances of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh - so vividly ingrained in the minds of audiences - cannot be recaptured, much less exceeded, in a portrayal where the intensity is interrupted by the inane lyrics of a song that has to be performed just to look different from the film. This is comparable only to Guy Smiley, a character on Sesame Street belting out the song Gone With the Wind while literally being blown away.
Fans of the film and the novel would do well to avoid this musical version. It would corrupt the beautiful memories and romantic attachments that have been nurtured through many years, tucked safely and securely in the area of the mind reserved for the most wonderful experiences of their lives. Replacing it with a burlesque version that should even have difficulty being shown on Saturday Night Live is an abomination. Apparently the producers and investors don't give a damn about these memories. And tomorrow is another day for them... to be ridiculed and laughed out of business.
Haaarrrwwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!
Audiences worldwide have watched the film more than once, for many, as much as a dozen times; and the visual images, characterizations, and story lines have been so profoundly engraved on the collective consciousness that seeing Rhett Butler break into a song just doesn't register well in the public imagination. And sweet and holy Melanie - weak and dying, but the tragedy of her death is trivialized when she bursts into a song on her deathbed! This is comical. It's as if the Joker came to life hypnotizing the crowd into a state of dumbness, then surrender their brains to make it into high cholesterol burgers.
Trevor Nunn's three and a half hour 4.5 million pounds Production has limitations that diminishes the majesty and intimacy that film can accomplish. The camera could depict the terror on Vivien Leigh's face when she sees the extent of wounded and dying soldiers in the streets; and as the camera pans out, the magnitude of the southern defeat is evident and irreversible. Or, depicting the awesome sight of the burning of Atlanta and close up on Scarlett's expression of determined selfishness and self-preservation. Theater has no means to project this realism. The pathetic stage scene of the burning of Atlanta resembled a backyard barbecue on New Year's Eve!
Critics have not been bowled over by the long winded yet distracting songs with forgettable melodies and hackneyed lyrics. The expected explosive chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett that could have saved the production didn't materialize. The towering drama, the physical presence, and the electrifying performances of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh - so vividly ingrained in the minds of audiences - cannot be recaptured, much less exceeded, in a portrayal where the intensity is interrupted by the inane lyrics of a song that has to be performed just to look different from the film. This is comparable only to Guy Smiley, a character on Sesame Street belting out the song Gone With the Wind while literally being blown away.
Fans of the film and the novel would do well to avoid this musical version. It would corrupt the beautiful memories and romantic attachments that have been nurtured through many years, tucked safely and securely in the area of the mind reserved for the most wonderful experiences of their lives. Replacing it with a burlesque version that should even have difficulty being shown on Saturday Night Live is an abomination. Apparently the producers and investors don't give a damn about these memories. And tomorrow is another day for them... to be ridiculed and laughed out of business.Haaarrrwwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!
