How the hell did I miss this?
Tommy Mottola and Miramax Films are building "The Wall" on Broadway. The hit album by rockers Pink Floyd will be transformed into a Broadway musical.
"Great!" said Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters in a statement Thursday. "Now I can write in some laughs, notable by their absence in the movie."
I dunno, I thought the school children falling into the meat grinder was pretty funny.
Not having listened to much Pink Floyd in a while, perhaps I was mistaken in thinking that a serious autobiographical work about alienation and isolation didn't really lend itself to, uh, "laughs." Must've been all the harmless tobacco I was smoking.
"There are few projects as timeless as 'The Wall,"' said Mottola in a statement. "Even after two decades since its first release, 'The Wall' continues to break through every generational, socioeconomic and political boundary."
Good to see a lackluster Broadway season hasn't dimmed Mottola's sense of humor, or his flair for hyperbole.
Like most whiny teenagers, I found some solace in endlessly replaying "The Wall" in my bedroom, and I still enjoy the movie, but come on. I'm betting generations younger than mine, raised on hip hop and nu metal, don't care much about "The Wall." And if they do, they can always just download it.
Which throws Mottola's "socioeconomic boundary" comment into relief, as well. It isn't like anyone other than Waters' bloated Baby Boomer counterparts are likely to shell out $120 a pop for mezzanine seats to watch a kookier version of "The Wall." Waters knows this, and has probably been planning a stage show ever since he convinced organizers in Berlin that, because his album has the word "wall" in it, booking him for the reuinification festivities would be a great idea. All it proved was that "The Wall" is nothing without David Gilmour, Cyndi Lauper is just plain wrong for "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2," and Bryan Adams is the face of evil and must be destroyed.
Subsequent concerts at the Wailing Wall, Great Wall, and the remains of Hadrian's Wall never panned out, for some reason.
What frightens me the most is the trend itself. Sure, they start with the classics like "Tommy" or "The Wall." Next come the lesser know but still decent concept albums, like maybe "Joe's Garage" or "Operation: Mindcrime." But what happens then? Where do the producers go after they've plundered all the marginally interesting stuff? I'm not much for grim prognostication, but within ten years, I predict we can all look forward to either ELP's "Tarkus: The Musical," or "KISS: Music from 'Music from the Elder.'" One way or the other, civilization is doomed.
I'd heard about this; it's clearly a sign of aging that I didn't really care.
Had 'The Wall' on 8-track, LP, CD, and (currently)remastered CD....
Also own CD of the Berlin show...
the horror.... the horror....
Compared to alot of the crap on Broadway these days, I'd actually be interested in seeing something different on the Great White Way. I hope Waters can pull this off.
Nevertheless, I am nervous that we'll see some sort of Elton John or The Eagles musical ala the crummy "Movin' Out" or "Mama Mia" genre
I'll wait until 'The Wall: On Ice' comes to town, thank you very much.
For $100 or more ticket, I'd expect some complementary peyote, or something.
I'm holding my breath waiting for The Village vs. The Wall, which will pit two creepy cinema franchises against each other in a no-holds-barred fiesta of queasifying non-thrilldom. The Shyamalanesque twist at the end will be when the monster turns out to be David Gilmour, and where his hand should have been.....IS A HOOK!!!1!
I'm back in graduate school now, but I taught high school English for the past three school years, and, believe me, you'd be shocked at the number of kids who are still into 'Floyd. It astonished me at first, too.
Are any of them still into Foghat? Because that would be really scary.
But you know that people of our generation will pay $95 to see "The Wall" on Broadway. It's sick, but it'll happen.
Props for the "Music From The Elder" reference... I thought most of the world had tried to purge their memories of it.