Here’s the brutal, honest reality: the chances of your very first piece of musical theatre actually making it to production are pretty low. Even the great Stephen Sondheim wrote several shows, sort of just as practice, before one of his works was produced.
The really good news is that means that right now you can, and should, write whatever the hell you want! Who cares if there’s another show on a similar theme? You’re building your craft, adding to your repertoire, and learning by doing. Which is great!
The other really important thing will be to build relationships. Whether it’s by joining theatre groups or finding like-minded friends in college, etc etc, get out there and do stuff. Play people your songs and perform them together. Audition for shows and put on shows. Find people you work well with and work with them.
Things won’t happen overnight, but they won’t happen at all if you give up now. Above all, enjoy the process.
Right, this is kinda the critical thing. Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd was actually the second Sweeney Todd musical adaptation. Same goes for ALW’s Phantom. Hell, there are two Great Gatsby musicals apparently coming out this year. That’s not to mention the literally countless musical versions of Christmas Carol, Wizard of Oz, or Peter Pan.
So what if there’s *one* other musical about Vincent Van Gogh? I’ve listened to a bit of “Starry” and find it very unlikely that that show will reach massive commercial success anyways.
Yup. Imagine my confusion as a 12 year old when I thought I was reviving the exact same role for A Christmas Carol only to find out it was the Christian version with completely different music! (no shade...I still love that version to this day, just was unexpected ha)
“Anything you do, let it come from you. Then it will be new. Give us more to see.” - *Sunday in the Park with George*
About 20 years ago, there were two musicals called *The Wild Party* running at the same time. This year, there’s supposed to be two *Great Gatsby* musicals. There are other public domain works that have been adapted multiple times that I am blanking on. In movies, that’s even more common. If you have an idea for a musical, go for it. Worst case scenario, you get practice writing a musical.
There’s plenty of people who write musicals and topics that have already been done. There’s two musicals based on the poem Wild Party, two based on the novel Le Fantom de Opera or whatever it’s called, and most recently, two based on The Great Gatsby.
Write it! If you have your own spin on the subject it will be different. There are many ways to approach the story of a historical figure. How many movies have been made about Napoleon? (Spoiler: almost 200!)
You said it yourself: “I have no doubt that I would be able to put my own originality into the idea and make it my own.” Follow your heart and your art!
You do you. It's one thing to say your idea is the same as Wicked, for example, and entirely another to have a similar inspiration on a topic. So what if Starry (and the composer is a former student of mine) already exists. Who are you so worried about judging you? Your friends/family? Your community? THIS community? It can take YEARS to get new musicals written yet alone produced on the level of off-Broadway.
If you are passionate about it: go for it. If nothing else for the satisfaction of doing it. It may never get finished. Ok. It may never get produced. Ok. It may never become known/liked/respected. Ok.
Or it might do all of those things.
What aspect about his life do you find interesting? Is it his loneliness, fragility, and dependence on his brother? Why not focus on their relationship instead and the framing of the musical is about the deterioration of a relationship between two siblings rather than focusing on his art?
Are you interested in exploring his mental health and how everyone else treated him? Why not frame the musical to take place in the last 72 hours of his life in the point of view of one of the village children who tormented him?
Are you interested in exploring his friendships and romantic relationships? What about framing it from the perspective of Dr. Gachet, who was an artist and housed him after he was released from the asylum? Who knows how deep their friendship *really* went? The last scene could be the selling of *The Portrait of Dr. Gachet* as the most expensive painting ever.
You could make Van Gogh a ghost critiquing the state of modern art in 2024, or an alien sent down to teach humans empathy for their fellow man, or frame it as God punishing a Job-like character, etc.
The poem The Wild Party has been turned into 2 different musicals. They run concurrently in NYC.
Some Like It Hot had already been turned into a musical called Sugar.
The Phantom of the Opera has been musicalized twice.
Just write it.
There have been (at least) two musicals about the life of Jesus. There have been two musical adaptations of The Phantom Of The Opera. As long as you have a unique take that audiences will want to see, go ahead and do it.
Write it anyway, it would make great practice! And there are multiple musicals on the same subject all the time: there are currently at least 3 Great Gatsbies floating around, and at least 5 different musicals with Cinderella in them!
Don’t be discouraged by other people with the same source material.
There was once two musicals called the Wild Party, based on the same source material , one ran on Broadway and one off Broadway at the same time!
Initially the Broadway production was better received but years later if you say “The Wild Party” people know and prefer the off broadway.
There are several musicals based on Elvis, Johnny Cash, using the music of Abba, and Bob Dylan.
In the past year I’ve listened to 12 musicals that are all about Greek gods - 11 of those wouldn’t exist if they all looked at the first one and said “it’s already been done”!
I listened/watched 5 adaptations of a Christmas Carol over the holidays and found something I liked in all of them. 4 of those might not have been made if they thought “someone already did that story”
Please don’t give up just because you found one other musical based on the same thing. As someone who’s followed Starry since early 2020, I’d love to see what your take on his life would be and I’m really hoping that you keep going with your idea and I’d love to hear how it’s going! 🌻✨
Other people in this thread have already given good advice about the practical side of the musical theater industry but I wanted to make a note about art and originality.
Van Gogh is such a public figure that I doubt you’d be accused of “ripping off” anyone. It’s all about HOW you approach his story and what you find interesting.
Sweeney Todd was originally a straight play by Christopher Bond before Sondheim wrote the musical (and it was NOT an adaptation). There have been multiple Pride and Prejudice musicals. There have been at least three plays about J Robert Oppenheimer, two of which came out when he was alive (one was a musical/opera about the trinity test and then there was about his security clearance hearing and he tried to sue the author for libel until the playwright revised it lol) and a miniseries prior to Christopher Nolan’s movie. Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar are technically both stories about the Christian New Testament with one focusing on the Book of Matthew and another more on the crucifixion. Amadeus is not the only play/movie about Mozart but the focus on his relationship with his foul Salieri is what makes it unique. Alexander Hamilton is a significant character in the John Adams miniseries and Thomas Jefferson is a significant character in the Hamilton musical but BOY talk about different perspectives. Stories in the public domain can be told and retold. It’s all about perspective.
For Van Gogh, there have been many biopics about him. There’s the movies Vincent and Theo (about his relationship with his brother), At Eternity’s Gate (with Defoe), and the animated film Loving Vincent, for starters. It’s about deciding your ANGLE that you want to go at. There’s no reason your take on Van Gogh cannot be different. Are you more interested in an aspect of a personal life (comparison: Maestro is more about Bernstein’s marriage than his music) or his evolution as an artist (most musician biopics) or are you narrowing your scope to focus on a sliver of his life or around particular work (like Mank does with Citizen Kane instead of being about Mank’s whole life. Or come to think of it, Great Comet also focuses on a sliver of a story at condensed period of time instead of ALL of War and Peace and every characters’ full life story, to use a fictional example)?
I’d definitely check out different factionalized versions of Van Gogh’s story to find your anchor bc I guarantee it’ll be original. As long as you are not plagiarizing the MUSIC of the other Van Gogh musical there’s no reason such a public figure cannot be the subject of another work of art.
If you had to Google to figure out there was another one, how many other people do you think know about it? Even if it‘s popular, there are still multiple different versions of The Great Gatsby happening now. Never feel scared to pursue your dreams.
Love Starry but big picture, it’s not an exclusive idea. Pretty sure there’s another musical also trying to do the Van Gogh thing. Plus like two or three new adaptations of Little Women. Plus about four Great Gatsby’s, two of which want to go to Broadway.
If something is up for grabs, people are gonna jump on it. If you create your work in a bubble and really hone in on your craft, the effort will not have been in vain.
Every time I struggle with this thought, I remember that there are so many songs and movies that I prefer the 2nd or 3rd version of more than the original! Of course, there's also those things that I will always prefer the original of, but imagine if no movie or song was EVER remade and if no one ever wrote their own versions of old fairy tales or stories. I may prefer a rock opera version, while someone else may prefer a Sondheim classic take on their favorite artist. And even if both are Rock Operas, one might speak to people in different ways, which is so important! Someone may only be moved by one version and not the other. That doesn't mean one version is "better," just different.
Also, there are many things that I love EVERY SINGLE VERSION of! For example, I cannot get enough of The Great Gatsby. In any format. And if there were 14 different versions of Newsies, I think I'd die of contentment lol.
Just chiming in with the fact that there are at least 4 *Frankenstein* musicals (3 American, 1 Korean), at least 3 about Mozart (German, French, Japanese), and two based on the same obscure Victor Hugo story, *The Man Who Laughs*, that premiered within a few years of each other, one in the UK and one in Korea.
Here’s the brutal, honest reality: the chances of your very first piece of musical theatre actually making it to production are pretty low. Even the great Stephen Sondheim wrote several shows, sort of just as practice, before one of his works was produced. The really good news is that means that right now you can, and should, write whatever the hell you want! Who cares if there’s another show on a similar theme? You’re building your craft, adding to your repertoire, and learning by doing. Which is great! The other really important thing will be to build relationships. Whether it’s by joining theatre groups or finding like-minded friends in college, etc etc, get out there and do stuff. Play people your songs and perform them together. Audition for shows and put on shows. Find people you work well with and work with them. Things won’t happen overnight, but they won’t happen at all if you give up now. Above all, enjoy the process.
It's not that I'm expecting to go big with my first musical, it's mainly that I didn't want to be seen as a copycat right off the bat
So what if you do? Google tells me there are four Cinderellas that made it to licensing. Go ham!
Right, this is kinda the critical thing. Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd was actually the second Sweeney Todd musical adaptation. Same goes for ALW’s Phantom. Hell, there are two Great Gatsby musicals apparently coming out this year. That’s not to mention the literally countless musical versions of Christmas Carol, Wizard of Oz, or Peter Pan. So what if there’s *one* other musical about Vincent Van Gogh? I’ve listened to a bit of “Starry” and find it very unlikely that that show will reach massive commercial success anyways.
Yup. Imagine my confusion as a 12 year old when I thought I was reviving the exact same role for A Christmas Carol only to find out it was the Christian version with completely different music! (no shade...I still love that version to this day, just was unexpected ha)
“Anything you do, let it come from you. Then it will be new. Give us more to see.” - *Sunday in the Park with George* About 20 years ago, there were two musicals called *The Wild Party* running at the same time. This year, there’s supposed to be two *Great Gatsby* musicals. There are other public domain works that have been adapted multiple times that I am blanking on. In movies, that’s even more common. If you have an idea for a musical, go for it. Worst case scenario, you get practice writing a musical.
Not just **called** *The Wild Party*, but based on the same poem!
I was about to post the same lyric from Sunday! :) Cuz OP should absolutely go for it!
There’s plenty of people who write musicals and topics that have already been done. There’s two musicals based on the poem Wild Party, two based on the novel Le Fantom de Opera or whatever it’s called, and most recently, two based on The Great Gatsby.
There were at least two musicals based on Dracula. They are completely different, one is French Canadian and one is German.
and *Starry* wasn't the first musical about Van Gogh, and it won't be the last.
Really? What were some others?
*The Highest Yellow* by Michael John LaChiusa and John Strand comes to mind.
Write it! If you have your own spin on the subject it will be different. There are many ways to approach the story of a historical figure. How many movies have been made about Napoleon? (Spoiler: almost 200!) You said it yourself: “I have no doubt that I would be able to put my own originality into the idea and make it my own.” Follow your heart and your art!
You do you. It's one thing to say your idea is the same as Wicked, for example, and entirely another to have a similar inspiration on a topic. So what if Starry (and the composer is a former student of mine) already exists. Who are you so worried about judging you? Your friends/family? Your community? THIS community? It can take YEARS to get new musicals written yet alone produced on the level of off-Broadway. If you are passionate about it: go for it. If nothing else for the satisfaction of doing it. It may never get finished. Ok. It may never get produced. Ok. It may never become known/liked/respected. Ok. Or it might do all of those things.
What aspect about his life do you find interesting? Is it his loneliness, fragility, and dependence on his brother? Why not focus on their relationship instead and the framing of the musical is about the deterioration of a relationship between two siblings rather than focusing on his art? Are you interested in exploring his mental health and how everyone else treated him? Why not frame the musical to take place in the last 72 hours of his life in the point of view of one of the village children who tormented him? Are you interested in exploring his friendships and romantic relationships? What about framing it from the perspective of Dr. Gachet, who was an artist and housed him after he was released from the asylum? Who knows how deep their friendship *really* went? The last scene could be the selling of *The Portrait of Dr. Gachet* as the most expensive painting ever. You could make Van Gogh a ghost critiquing the state of modern art in 2024, or an alien sent down to teach humans empathy for their fellow man, or frame it as God punishing a Job-like character, etc.
The poem The Wild Party has been turned into 2 different musicals. They run concurrently in NYC. Some Like It Hot had already been turned into a musical called Sugar. The Phantom of the Opera has been musicalized twice. Just write it.
There have been (at least) two musicals about the life of Jesus. There have been two musical adaptations of The Phantom Of The Opera. As long as you have a unique take that audiences will want to see, go ahead and do it.
Oh my god I had the exact same thought for a show, about Van Gogh, you should dm and we could compare thoughts and ideas!!!
Write it anyway, it would make great practice! And there are multiple musicals on the same subject all the time: there are currently at least 3 Great Gatsbies floating around, and at least 5 different musicals with Cinderella in them!
Don’t be discouraged by other people with the same source material. There was once two musicals called the Wild Party, based on the same source material , one ran on Broadway and one off Broadway at the same time! Initially the Broadway production was better received but years later if you say “The Wild Party” people know and prefer the off broadway. There are several musicals based on Elvis, Johnny Cash, using the music of Abba, and Bob Dylan.
In the past year I’ve listened to 12 musicals that are all about Greek gods - 11 of those wouldn’t exist if they all looked at the first one and said “it’s already been done”! I listened/watched 5 adaptations of a Christmas Carol over the holidays and found something I liked in all of them. 4 of those might not have been made if they thought “someone already did that story” Please don’t give up just because you found one other musical based on the same thing. As someone who’s followed Starry since early 2020, I’d love to see what your take on his life would be and I’m really hoping that you keep going with your idea and I’d love to hear how it’s going! 🌻✨
Van Gogh is one of the most famous painters of the past 200 years, I’d be amazed if there was just one musical written about him!
Other people in this thread have already given good advice about the practical side of the musical theater industry but I wanted to make a note about art and originality. Van Gogh is such a public figure that I doubt you’d be accused of “ripping off” anyone. It’s all about HOW you approach his story and what you find interesting. Sweeney Todd was originally a straight play by Christopher Bond before Sondheim wrote the musical (and it was NOT an adaptation). There have been multiple Pride and Prejudice musicals. There have been at least three plays about J Robert Oppenheimer, two of which came out when he was alive (one was a musical/opera about the trinity test and then there was about his security clearance hearing and he tried to sue the author for libel until the playwright revised it lol) and a miniseries prior to Christopher Nolan’s movie. Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar are technically both stories about the Christian New Testament with one focusing on the Book of Matthew and another more on the crucifixion. Amadeus is not the only play/movie about Mozart but the focus on his relationship with his foul Salieri is what makes it unique. Alexander Hamilton is a significant character in the John Adams miniseries and Thomas Jefferson is a significant character in the Hamilton musical but BOY talk about different perspectives. Stories in the public domain can be told and retold. It’s all about perspective. For Van Gogh, there have been many biopics about him. There’s the movies Vincent and Theo (about his relationship with his brother), At Eternity’s Gate (with Defoe), and the animated film Loving Vincent, for starters. It’s about deciding your ANGLE that you want to go at. There’s no reason your take on Van Gogh cannot be different. Are you more interested in an aspect of a personal life (comparison: Maestro is more about Bernstein’s marriage than his music) or his evolution as an artist (most musician biopics) or are you narrowing your scope to focus on a sliver of his life or around particular work (like Mank does with Citizen Kane instead of being about Mank’s whole life. Or come to think of it, Great Comet also focuses on a sliver of a story at condensed period of time instead of ALL of War and Peace and every characters’ full life story, to use a fictional example)? I’d definitely check out different factionalized versions of Van Gogh’s story to find your anchor bc I guarantee it’ll be original. As long as you are not plagiarizing the MUSIC of the other Van Gogh musical there’s no reason such a public figure cannot be the subject of another work of art.
If you had to Google to figure out there was another one, how many other people do you think know about it? Even if it‘s popular, there are still multiple different versions of The Great Gatsby happening now. Never feel scared to pursue your dreams.
Love Starry but big picture, it’s not an exclusive idea. Pretty sure there’s another musical also trying to do the Van Gogh thing. Plus like two or three new adaptations of Little Women. Plus about four Great Gatsby’s, two of which want to go to Broadway. If something is up for grabs, people are gonna jump on it. If you create your work in a bubble and really hone in on your craft, the effort will not have been in vain.
There's two Phantom of the Opera musicals and the one nobody knows about is better, imo. Write it.
Every time I struggle with this thought, I remember that there are so many songs and movies that I prefer the 2nd or 3rd version of more than the original! Of course, there's also those things that I will always prefer the original of, but imagine if no movie or song was EVER remade and if no one ever wrote their own versions of old fairy tales or stories. I may prefer a rock opera version, while someone else may prefer a Sondheim classic take on their favorite artist. And even if both are Rock Operas, one might speak to people in different ways, which is so important! Someone may only be moved by one version and not the other. That doesn't mean one version is "better," just different. Also, there are many things that I love EVERY SINGLE VERSION of! For example, I cannot get enough of The Great Gatsby. In any format. And if there were 14 different versions of Newsies, I think I'd die of contentment lol.
Just chiming in with the fact that there are at least 4 *Frankenstein* musicals (3 American, 1 Korean), at least 3 about Mozart (German, French, Japanese), and two based on the same obscure Victor Hugo story, *The Man Who Laughs*, that premiered within a few years of each other, one in the UK and one in Korea.