Stage 3: Viva La Difference

Don's book was written chronologically. My musical takes events that are 
connected by content and puts them together so that the audience can experience 
a topic at a time. An example of that would be the Golf Segments which in the 
book are in the Spring, Summer and Fall but in my musical the situations all 
come together in one segment about golfing and caddying. Don's character Mike 
meets his future wife in the summer of 1955 at a beach in Massachusetts. My 
character Mike meets her at Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island. So there are 
major differences and subtle differences which I felt enable the audience to 
enjoy the musical journey more effectively. 

I  believe that your audience has paid their money and are expecting an 
evening of fun and entertainment so they're on your side to begin with. To 
adhere strictly to predisposed situations which might confuse them on their 
journey, because the source was created for a different genre, may work in some 
instances but like an artist decides the color of his paints so too does a 
writer of a musical comedy need to color his play how he feels it should be. 

And just as the conductor guides his train so too must the book of the show 
guide the audience. 

Stage left:  All Aboard - next we'll talk about the Book of the show!