What If Narnia Books Were Each A Musical

[jasmine_tarkheena]

Oh, like Caspian’s nurse singing of the old days of Narnia or “Narnia and the North” as a musical number.

[jasmine_tarkheena]

One of the members are Narniaweb gave some ideas for "I want" songs in Narnia musicals:

The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe would to be from Lucy’s perspective, perhaps singing about how she feels left out or ignored by her siblings, being the youngest, and wishing for a world to escape to where she would be noticed and loved. It could also be about Edmund’s desire to be king and get revenge on Peter.

IN Prince Caspian, Caspian could sing a song about longing for the old world to return and the fear, frustration, and burden of hiding out in the woods and leading a charge against Miraz.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader could have an “I Want” song from several people aboard the Dawn Treader—Caspian and his desire to find the complete the quest and find the seven lords, Reepicheep and his longing for the Utter East, etc. (Side note: I think it would be really neat for VDT to have a sea shanty sung by the crew.)

The Silver Chair could have a duet between Eustace and Jill, perhaps showcasing their conflicted desires to follow the signs and be safe/warm/comfortable. Puddlglum could sing the base melody and Eustace and Jill could harmonize, introducing a bit of dissonance and creating a “push and pull” effect where Puddleglum would always be trying to nudge them back to the main melody ( mirroring how he is the one to anchor them throughout their journey).

The Horse and His Boy could have Shasta and Aravis sing simultaneously. They could have two opposing melodies at the beginning and slowly begin to harmonize throughout the musical so that by the end, their melodies blend smoothly, mirroring the development of their friendship and the success of their journey.

The Magician's Nephew could have an song sung by Digory voicing his desire for his mother to get better and show his desperation/willingness to do anything to accomplish that, making it all the more impactful when he refuses to take the apple from Jadis.

For The Last Battle, Tirian could sing a song looking back on Narnian history and forward to the future simultaneously, or Jill and Eustace could sing another duet, calling back to their song in The Silver Chair.

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

The SC suggestion is far too late to work for an “I want” song, since they’re clearly partway through the journey (even close to Harfang, by the sound of it) and interparty conflict would not be the right tone for an “I want”. The place for one would either be Experiment House or in Aslan’s Country; given that Jill is the protagonist of SC, I think she should either get to solo it — or at most, share only a portion with Eustace (a la Frozen’s “For the First Time in Forever”).
The interparty conflict one could be really cool as a separate song though. Especially if Jill and Eustace follow an already-established melody while Puddleglum follows another, and this is the moment they’re most dissonant… and then they wind up harmonizing at the Silver Chair, where they’re all aligned to do the right thing together.

Similarly, PC’s should focus on the first half of the suggestion, both for timing and for themes. Frustration and despair over how the war is going ties into the longing for the return of Old Narnia, and comes later in the story besides.

For HHB, the only way I see a combined “I want” for Shasta and Aravis working is if they’re introduced simultaneously, either starting the story after they meet up or dividing the screen/stage between two scenes (a la Barbie’s “I’ll be Free” or “Princesses Want to Have Fun/Here I Am”). Personally, I think I’d rather two separate solos: Shasta’s before/while he leaves homes, and Aravis’ when she tells her story (a la Anastasia’s “In My Dreams” and “My Petersburg”).
Absolutely agree with their finally harmonizing at the end.

VDT thematically works, but I’d omit or reduce Reep; I’d also want to introduce a broader theme of searching for something more, which would tie the whole adventure and both motives together. (The book shifts protagonists, particularly between Lucy, Eustace, and Caspian, which is part of my reason for thinking an expanded theme would be more fitting.)
Similarly, LB, especially given the themes of enduring truth and faithfulness. I’d just omit Jill and Eustace since Tirian is the protagonist.

MN’s is perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing.
LWW’s escapism or wanting-to-be-home thread is more where I’d take that. Especially since the rest of the options given for Lucy don’t coincide with her character.

[jasmine_tarkheena]

I guess the tricky thing is how would a song work. I wouldn't have thought of omitting Eustace and Jill in LB with Tirian being the protagonist. I guess they could sing a song with him. He could sing the melody and they can harmonize. It would work more as a filer song, though.

In speaking of filler songs, there are so many out there that would work.

In LWW, Mr. and Beaver could sing a filler song about the coming of Aslan and the prophecy.

In PC, there could be a filler song with Trumpkin, Trufflehunter and Nikkabrik. It would about how Trufflehunter chooses to stand true while the other two are in skepticism.

In VDT, the crew of the Dawn Treader would certainly have a filler song.

The idea of Puddleglum trying to nudge Eustace and Jill back to the main melody in SC is a thought as a filler song.

In HHB, the Hermit of the Southern March could sing a filler song about his 109 years.

In MN, a filler song would be where Aunt Letty tries to talk sense to Jadis, when she tells her to leave the house.

[NarnianAtHeart]

The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader could be a challenging to do on stage because most of it is out on water. It could be like the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. What you could do is for the Dark Island, you can have all the lights go out, and have a spot light on the ship or use lanterns.
The Silver Chair- You could have Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill slowly walking North. You could also have all the lights turned out for the Underland.
The Magician's Nephew- When Digory and Polly each put on the rings, all the lights go out, they could "appear" in the wood between the worlds. Even when Polly puts the ring on first, the lights go out and come back on to make it like she had disappeared.
The Last Battle- What you could do is where King Tirian is having his dream or vision, you can turn off the lights then have the Seven Friends of Narnia come on. Then Tirian can all of a sudden show up. Another is where Tash is coming into Narnia, have all the lights turn out. You could even also have where Tirian takes Rishda into the stable, and all the lights turn off. Then have one spotlight on Tirian for a moment. When Tash shows up to take Rishda, have another spot light on them.

Basically, not a lot of lights

[jasmine_tarkheena]

The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader could be a challenging to do on stage because most of it is out on water. It could be like the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. What you could do is for the Dark Island, you can have all the lights go out, and have a spot light on the ship or use lanterns.

I haven't thought of that one, though I've seen a broadway production of The Little Mermaid. And interesting thought about the the lanterns in the Dark Island.

The Silver Chair- You could have Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill slowly walking North. You could also have all the lights turned out for the Underland.

Interesting thought.

The Magician's Nephew- When Digory and Polly each put on the rings, all the lights go out, they could "appear" in the wood between the worlds. Even when Polly puts the ring on first, the lights go out and come back on to make it like she had disappeared.

I think there also could be the lights out when they first arrived in Narnia, then have little dim light when the stars start to sing. Narnia is being newly created.

The Last Battle- What you could do is where King Tirian is having his dream or vision, you can turn off the lights then have the Seven Friends of Narnia come on. Then Tirian can all of a sudden show up. Another is where Tash is coming into Narnia, have all the lights turn out. You could even also have where Tirian takes Rishda into the stable, and all the lights turn off. Then have one spotlight on Tirian for a moment. When Tash shows up to take Rishda, have another spot light on them.

I think you could even have where Poggin is overhearing Rishda and Ginger talking of their secret plan, two spot lights- one on Poggin and the other on Rishda and Ginger. And everything else would be pitch black.

You could even have for The Horse And His Boy, where Lasaraleen and Aravis are in the litter in Tashbaan, when the curtain opens, the light is on. Then when the curtain closes, the light goes out, and the spotlight is on them.

[jasmine_tarkheena]

Imagine if Narnia was done in opera style (though most operas are known to be tragic love stories). Maybe the stars in The Magician's Nephew could sing in operatic form.

[hobbit_of_narnia]

(......I'm suddenly and sharply reminded of that Last Battle musical I was writing almost 10 years ago. I still remember fractions of a couple of the songs, and somewhere I have two notebooks with notes and sketches and lyrics from it.)

[jasmine_tarkheena]

I just thought of that for a musical number in VDT, on the Lone Islands, Caspian and his men could sing a rally cry as they're heading for the slave market to rescue their friends, perhaps similar to "Do You Hear The People Sing" from Les Miserable.

For LB, you could have Shift sing the main melody and Rishda and Ginger harmonize. Then Rishda and Ginger takes over the main melody and Shift harmonize. Then Rishda and Ginger could try to nudge him back to the same melody, given that they're using him like a puppet.