Ain’t It Cool News, always first with anonymous reviews, now has “a report from the Paris premiere of David Cronenberg and Howard Shore’s THE FLY OPERA!!!”

Apparently, this is a “long anticipated” adaptation of the film. I’ve never heard about it, much less anticipated it, but hey.

The Fly was a 1986 science fiction film starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. A re-imagining of the 1958 film, which in turn was an adaptation of a novel, it is the story of an eccentric scientist who begins to turn into a fly (why not?).

Howard Shore, who wrote the score for the film, also penned the music for this opera. The reviewer says:

All in all: If you’re in France right now, check it out! It has some flaws, but the music is great, as is the production design and the actors. If you are a fan of Cronenberg’s work or the movie version, this is a must see. It has the look and feel of a Cronenberg film, but you will probably never see this on DVD or television and it is not clear by now if Howard Shore’s music will be released on CD, so after only five shows in Paris and another five in Los Angeles this project will maybe be gone for good. Also, no need to buy tickets in advance. It wasn’t sold out, and on the evening of the premiere you could get best category tickets at the box office for only 20 Euros.

This show adds to the grand tradition of converting films into musicals - even unlikely ones. Some of the well-known titles include The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Hairspray, and some of my personal favorites…

Spamalot!

Though it has been criticized for undermining some of the subtle and screwball humor of Monty Python’s Holy Grail, Spamalot’s songs are funny, catchy, and musically pleasing. The original cast recording is a treat - they’ve since replaced the one female lead, and I can’t imagine that she’s anywhere near as talented as the first one.

Little Shop of Horrors

This perennial classic has gone both ways - from movie to musical, then from musical to musical movie. The latter stars Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene. While I was aware of this musical’s existence for as long as I can remember, I wasn’t really exposed to it until I saw Family Guy’s amazing take-off on the song “Somewhere That’s Green.” While the song is mostly played for laughs, I find it both funny and incredibly poignant - and, right then, I knew I had to see the movie. With a very young Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist, Little Shop of Horrors is well worth a rental.

What are your favorite screen-to-musical translations?

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