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.
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