It’s often surprising how often we see our favorite stage shows multiple times and never realize they started life as a book. Take Fiddler on the Roof for example. Fiddler was based on a series of short stories by Sholem Aleichem featuring Tevye the Dairyman. The stories were written in Yiddish and are based in the real village of Boyberik. Altogether there are eight stories in the collection.
Legally Blonde is another example. Though we’ve seen the movie (and its sequel) and have, hopefully, already made reservations for the musical coming this year, very few realize it was a book first. Written in 2001, the novel, by Amanda Brown, was based on her own experiences at Stanford Law School.
Goodbye to Berlin, written in 1939, describes the real-life experiences of its author, Christopher Isherwood. It focuses on his adventures in the slums and nightclubs of Berlin, and introduces a teenage cabaret singer called Sally Bowles. The book later became the musical, Cabaret.
Even your most classic musical comedies started off as short form literature. Guys and Dolls, the beloved show written by Frank Loesser and Jo Swerling started its journey as short stories by Damon Runyon. One, The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown, talked about an unlikely pairing of a problematic gambler and the Missionary woman he falls in love with. The second, Blood Pressure, introduces us to the likes of Nathan Detroit, Harry the Horse and Rusty Charlie and their illegal crap game.
So next time you are sitting in the theater, happily enjoying the spectacle before you, consider that every story starts with inspiration. Finding that may lead you to a tale you hadn’t expected to find.
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