John Munn, the artistic managing director of Lakewood Playhouse posted a fun query the other night. He asked people to take a famous musical title and change one letter to alter the name and the plot of the production. I posted several. Looking back at all the variations is almost a giggle fest. Some stretched the rules a little bit, but it was all in good fun.
Here were some of the responses:
THE BOOK OF MORMON to The Look of Mormon
SWEET CHARITY to Sweet Clarity
MAME to Mime
RENT to Rant . . . or Runt . . . or Lent
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE to The Pilates of Penzance
AMERICAN IDIOT to American Idiom
THE WEDDING SINGER to The Welding Singer . . . or The Wedding Sinner
ROCK OF AGES to Sock of Ages
PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE to Putnam County Spilling Bee
EVITA to Evite
DAMN YANKEES to Damp Yankees
GUYS AND DOLLS to Gays and Dolls
TOOTSIE to Footsie
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN to Annie Pet Your Gun . . . or Annie Get Your Gin
KISS ME, KATE to Kiss Me, Mate
SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR to Lame Time, Next Year
JEKYLL AND HIDE to Jekyll and Hype
THE JERSEY BOYS to The Jersey Goys
FLOWER DRUM SONG to Flower Rump Song
TAMING OF THE SHREW to Taming of the Shrek
TWELVTH NIGHT to Twelfth Fight
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER to On a Clear Day You Can Pee Forever
PAINT YOUR WAGON to Taint your Wagon
ANISTASIA to Klanistasia
THE SOUND OF MUSIC to The Pound of Music
ANYTHING GOES to Anything Toes
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying
MAN OF LA MANCHA to Man of La Muncha
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS to Little Ihop of Horrors
There were over two hundred comments, so people seemed to be enjoying themselves.
John Munn is not all fun and games, but it’s nice to take a break every once in a while and laugh. Lakewood Playhouse is nearing the end of a fundraising drive, so they can start off the 2019-2020 season (their 81st!). The new season will give us two musicals to enjoy: Heathers and Ragtime. Heathers was first a film and Ragtime was first a book and then a film. I look forward to seeing them both. You can make a donation or purchase season tickets (and soon individual tickets) by visiting the website – lakewoodplayhouse.org/
