Even though a musical based on his songs is probably the last thing he ever wanted, the music of Kurt Cobain is coming to Broadway, apparently. Nirvana's music is excellent, but if I were in charge of selecting a catalog of songs to adapt into a musical, Nirvana would be towards the bottom of my list. Here's who would be at the top:
1. Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. would definitely be up for creating a musical based on his music, because he seems like he would definitely be up for anything. All of his songs are huge and heavy as hell, but still catchy and incredibly upbeat. With the success of other feel-good rock musicals like Rock of Ages, this could conceivably work.
2. The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields' classic 1999 album 69 Love Songs was originally planned to be a musical revue featuring drag queens, so its songs are already tailored to being performed in a theatrical setting. Stuffing 69 songs into a single musical might be a bit much (the album itself is nearly three hours long), but selecting the best ones would make for a great night at the theater.
3. Sufjan Stevens
Both 2003's Michigan and 2005's Illinois are massive concept albums featuring character sketches, orchestral instrumentation, and musical interludes, so there's no reason why the music of Sufjan Stevens couldn't easily be adapted into a classic musical about the Midwest. If they made a musical about Oklahoma, Michigan and Illinois deserve a shot, too.
4. Morrissey/The Smiths
Morrissey is already one of the most dramatic performers in rock history, and his lyrics read like lines from a play set to music, so this is a no-brainer. I'd be the first in line to get tickets for This Charming Man: The Musical.
5. Kate Bush
Side two of Kate Bush's classic 1985 LP Hounds of Love is a seven-song suite (subtitled "The Ninth Wave") about someone's life flashing before their eyes while they drown. Honestly, it already sounds like the cast recording to a dark musical that doesn't exist yet.
6. David Bowie
There were rumors back in 2011 that a musical based on Bowie's music was in the works, but sadly, they weren't true. This is a shame, because Bowie has already created all of the main characters: Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke. There's so much in his music to work with.
7. Bruce Springsteen
Although the Boss has technically never written a concept album, his music is so thematically rich and character-driven that it seems like Born to Run or Nebraska might already be concept albums. There have been movies that are based on specific Springsteen songs (the Sean Penn-directed The Indian Runner is based on "Highway Patrolman") so why not actually set his music to a story?
8. Danzig/Misfits
Glenn Danzig would probably hate the idea of a musical based on his songs more than Kurt Cobain would, but just imagine how cool that show would be: a gothic heavy metal horror musical where blood sprays into the audience while someone sings "Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight". If they can turn Evil Dead into a musical (and they did, I saw it), then this could definitely happen.
