Adaptation Doesn’t Mean Pale Imitation

We talk with Rebecca Katz Harwood, Associate Professor in the UMD Department of Theatre about adaptation, transforming a story originally in another form into a play or film. Citing several recent Broadway musical adaptations - Hamilton, Mary Poppins, The Producers, and The Lion King, to name a few - we explore whether adaptations can or should remain true to the original source, and ways that an adaptation may enhance or even shed new light onto the original material.