Why retouch a classic?

Last weekend I went to see Aladdin, the brand new musical based on the Disney movie. They were testing it Seattle before it goes to Broadway. It was very funny and the adults far outnumbered the kids in the audience!

One of the things that surprised me about this musical was how much they changed the story. Some of changes occurred because it was a stage production. Since it’s a musical, there has to be more music. And forget the animal sidekicks! Animals and the stage don’t mix. Instead, Jasmine and Aladdin had a trio of friends. Aladdin’s friends also served as the narrators who spoke to the audience, explaining a split screen or telling someone to sing the reprise.

But many of the changes were made to modernize the story. After all, it’s been almost twenty years since the movie released. Whether it was the Genie singing a lyric from Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle”, Aladdin and his friends wanting to form a boy band, or the villain mentioning his group therapy with his sidekick, there were little surprises for everyone who was familiar with the story.

It’s a bold risk to make so many changes and updates. I often thought of that when authors make substantial revisions on an old book that is about to be re-released. More authors are updating their stories before they make them available as ebooks. But why retouch a classic?  As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

After watching the Aladdin musical, I think I understand why authors want to revise their stories one more time. It could be because the author has a different vision for the story, but most of the time I think it’s because they want the story to connect to today’s audience. What was popular twenty years ago could stand a few tweaks to make it relevant to a newer or different audience.

But if I really enjoyed the first version of a story, I doubt I will read the revised version. Just because I understand why authors do it, it doesn’t mean I always like it!

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