NOW FEATURING...GILLIGAN'S ISLAND THE MUSICAL - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

lm · 09-12-2012, 02:14 PM

Everyone who's seen this, please post your reactions/opinions!

When I saw the musical a few years ago, it was near enough to see but far enough to be an ordeal to get to--especially with snow and ice. I remember, as I was working on a way to get there, I was almost hoping that it wouldn't work out after all because it would be so difficult and I was so busy/exhausted with other things as well. I eventually got a ride there (still an ordeal though) on a day when I had gotten half a night's sleep. Magically, though, once I was there, watching the characters come to life on the stage, I felt fantastic and energized!!! It was certainly worth the trip and any aggravation to see it. It is really a wonderful, fun experience for any GI fan!
I don't know whether it is supposed to be a "good" musical or a "bad" musical--people all have their opinions and I'm not a musical theater expert, but it is certainly fun to see! In the production I saw, I liked some of the costumes--Ginger's gown was beautiful! I thought some of the songs were cute. Instead of the Russians or Jonathan Kincaid we now had aliens visiting the island (more like "Gilligan's Planet"), which I don't think was my favorite part. It's not exactly the same as watching GI, itself, but it is still a worthwhile GI experience, probably moreso than some of the movies or the second cartoon, I would say.

The fascinating thing about this extension of GI, though, as opposed to the others, or even the show, itself, is that many of us have seen different productions of it--share your experience of the musical with the production that you have seen!!!

P.S. Thanks to all of you who have posted and read my "Now Featuring" GI thread over the last few years--we've covered every episode and every GI-created extension of it. If you've joined us later on, please go back and read/post on the discussion for any GI episode or post-GI production so that we can continue it!!!

JWood201 · 09-15-2012, 10:31 AM

OH GIRL! I could talk about this musical for hours. The good, the bad, and the downright confusing.

I was supposed to direct a version of this a few years ago locally and then stuff happened and it didn't end up working out, but I'm still trying and I know the script inside and out from my preparations.

It's not that good, frankly. The first time I read it I panicked. HOWEVER, upon continuous reading and script analysis and whatever, it really did grow on me. It made sense. I started to be able to make directing choices that would help some of the lame jokes, some of the dirty jokes that were way too modern for the show, and Ginger's bout of OOC-ness.

It's tricky to do a show based so closely on something so well known. You either have to totally reimagine it, or do a very detail-oriented homage. I chose the latter. It really bothers me when productions don't care enough to even try to recreate the costumes. It's not that hard. If Ginger's dress isn't right or if Mary Ann's got an Elly Mae Clampett rope belt on, it takes you totally out of the moment. And I will cut a b*tch. However, if the director does something totally cray and does a recontextualization, it'd be more interesting and I can't fault the tiny detail issues. (But I still prefer it to be as reminiscent of the show as possible).

That being said, it's a pretty cute show. The songs are catchy and fun, there's some epic MAG and G/P shipping (SHERWOOD!), some genuinely funny lines and jokes, and the alien teaches us a valuable lesson.

The alien is the biggest issue b/c it makes the show more sci-fi instead of plausible - every person who landed on the island in the series was at least a real person, no matter how incredulous it was. I didn't want to go the "alien Halloween costume" route b/c it just looks silly, so I cast an adorable 7 year old with a giant voice in the role and it was hilarious. The castaways being so terrified of her was priceless, and her teaching them a lesson at the end was a testament to the wisdom of children. Also, she's the cutest thing in the world, so the audience can't hate on her.

Overall, I really like the musical, despite it's obvious flaws. They're nothing a creative director can't fix, but it has to be someone who really knows the original series. I want to try to do it again this summer since I'm now in grad school for theatre and know a ton of new actors/designers/etc.

What did you think of the storyline, characterization, etc, LM? Those are the issues that are interesting to talk about. Which production did you see?

09-12-2012, 02:14 PM	#1
lm Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 29, 2006 Location: New York Posts: 469	NOW FEATURING...GILLIGAN'S ISLAND THE MUSICAL Everyone who's seen this, please post your reactions/opinions! When I saw the musical a few years ago, it was near enough to see but far enough to be an ordeal to get to--especially with snow and ice. I remember, as I was working on a way to get there, I was almost hoping that it wouldn't work out after all because it would be so difficult and I was so busy/exhausted with other things as well. I eventually got a ride there (still an ordeal though) on a day when I had gotten half a night's sleep. Magically, though, once I was there, watching the characters come to life on the stage, I felt fantastic and energized!!! It was certainly worth the trip and any aggravation to see it. It is really a wonderful, fun experience for any GI fan! I don't know whether it is supposed to be a "good" musical or a "bad" musical--people all have their opinions and I'm not a musical theater expert, but it is certainly fun to see! In the production I saw, I liked some of the costumes--Ginger's gown was beautiful! I thought some of the songs were cute. Instead of the Russians or Jonathan Kincaid we now had aliens visiting the island (more like "Gilligan's Planet"), which I don't think was my favorite part. It's not exactly the same as watching GI, itself, but it is still a worthwhile GI experience, probably moreso than some of the movies or the second cartoon, I would say. The fascinating thing about this extension of GI, though, as opposed to the others, or even the show, itself, is that many of us have seen different productions of it--share your experience of the musical with the production that you have seen!!! P.S. Thanks to all of you who have posted and read my "Now Featuring" GI thread over the last few years--we've covered every episode and every GI-created extension of it. If you've joined us later on, please go back and read/post on the discussion for any GI episode or post-GI production so that we can continue it!!!

09-15-2012, 10:31 AM	#2
JWood201 TV Nerd Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 25, 2001 Posts: 798	OH GIRL! I could talk about this musical for hours. The good, the bad, and the downright confusing. I was supposed to direct a version of this a few years ago locally and then stuff happened and it didn't end up working out, but I'm still trying and I know the script inside and out from my preparations. It's not that good, frankly. The first time I read it I panicked. HOWEVER, upon continuous reading and script analysis and whatever, it really did grow on me. It made sense. I started to be able to make directing choices that would help some of the lame jokes, some of the dirty jokes that were way too modern for the show, and Ginger's bout of OOC-ness. It's tricky to do a show based so closely on something so well known. You either have to totally reimagine it, or do a very detail-oriented homage. I chose the latter. It really bothers me when productions don't care enough to even try to recreate the costumes. It's not that hard. If Ginger's dress isn't right or if Mary Ann's got an Elly Mae Clampett rope belt on, it takes you totally out of the moment. And I will cut a b*tch. However, if the director does something totally cray and does a recontextualization, it'd be more interesting and I can't fault the tiny detail issues. (But I still prefer it to be as reminiscent of the show as possible). That being said, it's a pretty cute show. The songs are catchy and fun, there's some epic MAG and G/P shipping (SHERWOOD!), some genuinely funny lines and jokes, and the alien teaches us a valuable lesson. The alien is the biggest issue b/c it makes the show more sci-fi instead of plausible - every person who landed on the island in the series was at least a real person, no matter how incredulous it was. I didn't want to go the "alien Halloween costume" route b/c it just looks silly, so I cast an adorable 7 year old with a giant voice in the role and it was hilarious. The castaways being so terrified of her was priceless, and her teaching them a lesson at the end was a testament to the wisdom of children. Also, she's the cutest thing in the world, so the audience can't hate on her. Overall, I really like the musical, despite it's obvious flaws. They're nothing a creative director can't fix, but it has to be someone who really knows the original series. I want to try to do it again this summer since I'm now in grad school for theatre and know a ton of new actors/designers/etc. What did you think of the storyline, characterization, etc, LM? Those are the issues that are interesting to talk about. Which production did you see?