Ambassador

The works of Henry James have been successfully adapted into plays, films and operas. Ambassador is, to my knowledge, the only attempt at musical comedy. James's 1903 novel, The Ambassadors, focuses on Lambert, a middle aged American, seeking his fiancees wayward son in France. He learns that the lad is having a passionate affair with a married older woman and has no plans to return. The revelation shakes the protagonist to his core causing him to rethink his life and his identity. His struggle is interesting but internal.

The musical focused on the romance between Lambert and the married French woman. This generic treatment ignored much of what made the novel work. The show opened on Broadway, despite bad reviews in London, and closed swiftly.

Teddy and Alice

Irving Berlin's fictional president was immersed in a light family sitcom. Teddy and Alice puts historical figures in a light family sitcom, then dials up the creepy.

The New York Times wrote:  "Teddy sees his daughter as the reincarnation of his beloved first wife and refuses to share her with others - never mind that such monopolistic practices are in violation of the newly passed Sherman antitrust act. A happy ending can arrive only when Alice's mother returns from the grave to encourage Teddy to give up the ghost. This exorcism, unfortunately, takes considerably longer to accomplish than the charge up San Juan Hill."

Only in the theater folks. Only in the theater.

Goodtime Charley

Act one of Goodtime Charley reads like Once Upon a Mattress; full of innuendo and burlesque. Act two reads like Game of Thrones; building to a scene where a vengeful Charley runs a sword through his General, feeds his Archbishop to the Inquisition, and tosses his treacherous mother down a flight of stairs. The New York Times described the show thus:

“The tone of the book is uncertain. It tries to be both flippant and serious, but it really succeeds in being neither. The story of a little guy’s being made into a king is not a bad idea at all – but although Mr. Grey is the star, the story rests on Joan. This is a conflict of narrative interest that Mr. Michaels never resolves. Whose story is this? We never find out.” ~Clive Barnes. New York Times. 1975.