What's Wrong with Superficial?": Sondheim and Ives's Here We Are as a Case Study of Modern Adaptation
Publication Date
2025
Presentation Length
15 minutes
College
College of Music & Performing Arts
Department
Theatre and Dance, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
SPARK Category
Scholarship
Faculty Advisor
Dr. James Al-Shamma
WELL Core Type
Intellectual Wellness
SPARK Session
Theatre History
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Summary
Many would consider adaptation to be the backbone of the American musical. For almost a century, audiences have been drawn all over the world to see their favorite stories presented on the stage as musical spectacles. However, in recent years, Broadway has become oversaturated with adaptations, prompting audiences to turn to original works. This begs the question: Do modern audiences hate adaptations in general? Or do they just hate bad ones?
Enter Stephen Sondheim, a musical theatre titan known for his decades-long career composing music for his innovative - and mostly successful - musical adaptations. In the final years of his life, Sondheim would collaborate with playwright David Ives to create Here We Are, a musical adaptation that combines two films by surrealist director Luis Buñuel: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise and The Exterminating Angel. By examining this musical and the circumstances under which it was conceived, I seek to answer whether or not Here We Are can be considered a good adaptation, and in turn, what sets apart a good adaptation from a bad one.
Recommended Citation
Alderdice, Zachary J., "What's Wrong with Superficial?": Sondheim and Ives's Here We Are as a Case Study of Modern Adaptation" (2025). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 177.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/177