Adapt or Perish

Latest Episodes:

Hamlet (Ep. 125) Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

With Episode 125 of Adapt or Perish, it's time for us to revisit the Bard and take a look at William Shakespeare's greatest theater kid antagonist, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark!

In this episode, we discuss:

William Shakespeare's original play, most likely written between 1599 and 1601
The 1948 theatrical movie directed and adapted by Laurence Olivier, and starring Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, and Peter Cushing
The 1964 stage production directed by John Gielgud, and starring Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake, Eileen Herlie, John Cullum, and the voice of Gielgud
Hamlet at Elsinore, the 1964 TV movie directed by Philip Saville, and starring Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, June Tobin, and Donald Sutherland
The 1969 theatrical movie directed and adapted by Tony Richardson, and starring Nicol Williamson, Judy Parfitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marianne Faithfull, and Mark Dignam
The 1970 TV movie directed by Peter Wood, adapted by John Barton, and starring Richard Chamberlain, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Leighton, Richard Johnson, and John Gielgud
The 1980 TV movie (and part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series) directed by Rodney Bennett, and starring Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom, Patrick Stewart, Eric Porter, Lalla Ward, and David Robb
The 1990 theatrical movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli, written by Zeffirelli and Christopher De Vore, and starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, and Helena Bonham Carter
The 1996 theatrical movie written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Richard Briers, Kate Winslet, Nicholas Farrell, Brian Blessed, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal
The 2000 TV movie directed by Campbell Scott and Eric Simonson, adapted by Simonson, and starring Scott, Blair Brown, Jamey Sheridan, Roscoe Lee Browne, John Benjamin Hickey, Michael Imperioli, LisaGay Hamilton
The 2000 theatrical movie written and directed by Michael Almereyda, and starring Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, Sam Shepard, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Bill Murray
The 2009 TV movie directed by Gregory Doran, and starring David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie, Mariah Gale, Edward Bennett, and Oliver Ford Davies

Footnotes:

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

We're also on Patreon! You can find us at patreon.com/adaptcast. We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Pollyanna (Ep. 124) Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

We're steadily working our way through the library of classic stories of orphan children, and in Episode 124 of Adapt or Perish we've finally gotten to Pollyanna "Glad Game" Whittier!

In this episode, we discuss:

Eleanor H. Porter's original 1913 novel
Pollyanna, the 1920 silent movie, directed by Paul Powell, written by Frances Marion, and starring Mary Pickford
Pollyanna, the 1960 Disney movie, written and directed by David Swift, and starring Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Richard Egan, Karl Malden, Nancy Olson, Agnes Moorehead, and Kevin Corcoran
Pollyanna, the 1973 miniseries, directed by June Wyndham-Davies, written by Joy Harington, and starring Elizabeth Archard, Elaine Stritch, Ray McAnally, Paul Maxwell, Paddy Frost, and Robert Coleby
The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love, the 1986 anime series, directed by Kōzō Kusuba, and written by Chisako Kuki and Akae Kunihiro
Polly, the 1989 TV movie musical, directed by Debbie Allen, written by W.F. Blinn, and starring Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Harewood, Brandon Quintin Adams, Brock Peters, Ken Page, and Celeste Holm
Pollyanna, the 2004 TV movie, directed by Sarah Harding, written by Simon Nye, and starring Georgina Terry, Amanda Burton, Kenneth Cranham, Aden Gillett, Pam Ferris, David Bamber, Kate Ashfield, and Tom Ellis

Footnotes:

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

You can now find all of the books we've covered on our Bookshop.org storefront! Any purchases you make from the page will support this show as well as a local bookstore of your choice.

We're also on Patreon!. We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Pinocchio (Ep. 123) Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

In what has turned out to be a mega-episode of Adapt or Perish, we're taking a look at Carlo Collodi's classic children's story Pinocchio! How quickly will these adaptations go off the rails? Give a listen and find out (hint: it's immediately).

In this episode, we discuss:

The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel
Pinocchio, the 1940 American animated movie, produced by Walt Disney, direction supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and story by Ted Sears, Otto Englander, Webb Smith, William Cottrell, Joseph Sabo, Erdman Penner, and Aurelius Battaglia
The Adventures of Buratino, the 1959 Soviet animated movie, directed by Dmitriy Babichenko and Ivan Ivanov-Vano, and written by Nikolai Erdman and Lyudmila Tolstaya
Pinocchio, the 1965 American musical TV special, directed by Nick Havinga, written by Jim Eiler, and performed by The Prince Street Players
Pinocchio, the 1971 theatrical movie, sometimes listed as The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio, directed by Corey Allen, and written by Allen and Chris Warfield
The Adventures of Pinocchio, the 1972 Italian animated movie (released in English in the United States in 1978), written and directed by Giuliano Cenci
Pinocchio, the 1976 American musical TV special, directed by Ron Field, music by Billy Barnes, and starring Sandy Duncan, Danny Kaye, and Clive Revill
Pinocchio, the 1978 British miniseries, directed by Barry Letts, and written by Alec Drysdale
Pinocchio, the 1984 episode of Faerie Tale Theatre, directed by Peter Medak, written by Mark Curtiss and Rod Ash, and starring Shelley Duvall, Paul Reubens, Carl Reiner, Lainie Kazan, and James Coburn
The Adventures of Pinocchio, the 1996 American movie, directed by Steve Barron, written by Barron, Sherry Mills, Tom Benedek, and Barry Berman, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Martin Landau, Udo Kier, and Geneviève Bujold
Geppetto, the 2000 American TV musical movie, directed by Tom Moore, written by David I. Stern, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and starring Drew Carey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brent Spener, René Auberjonois, and Seth Adkins
Pinocchio, the 2002 Italian movie, directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, written by Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami, and co-starring Nicoletta Braschi, Carlo Giuffrè, Peppe Barra, Franco Javarone, and Kim Rossi Stuart
Pinocchio, the 2009 British-Italian miniseries, directed by Alberto Sironi, written by Ivan Cotroneo and Carlo Mazzotta, and starring Bob Hoskins, Robbie Kay, Joss Ackland, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Pinocchio, the 2012 Italian animated movie, written and directed by Enzo D'Alò
Pinocchio, the 2019 Italian movie, directed by Matteo Garrone, written by Garrone and Massimo Ceccherini, and starring Roberto Benigni and Federico Ielapi
Pinocchio, the 2022 live-action remake of the 1940 Disney original, directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Chris Weitz, and starring Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Cynthia Erivo
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, the 2022 American stop-motion animated movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, and starring David Bradley, Ewan McGregor, Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Ron Perlman

Footnotes:

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Mansfield Park (Ep. 122) Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

It's been too long since we've covered the works of Jane Austen, so with Episode 122 of Adapt or Perish, we're back with a look at Mansfield Park. Join us as we try to answer the question: Fanny Price, total wet blanket or introvert heroine?

In this episode, we discuss:

Jane Austen's original 1814 novel
The 1983 miniseries, directed by David Giles, written by Kenneth Taylor, and starring Sylvestra Le Touzel, Nicholas Farrell, Samantha Bond, Angela Pleasence, Anna Massey, Jackie Smith-Wood, and Robert Burbage
The 1999 theatrical movie, written and directed by Patricia Rozema, and starring Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, James Purefoy, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Harold Pinter, and Hugh Bonneville
The 2007 TV movie, directed by Iain B. MacDonald, written by Maggie Wadey, and starring Billie Piper, Blake Ritson, James D'Arcy, Jemma Redgrave, Douglas Hodge, Hayley Atwell, and Rory Kinnear

Footnotes:

WERS, Emerson College's radio station

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

We're also on Patreon! You can find us at patreon.com/adaptcast. We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, biweekly bonus show! We hope to see you there.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

A Christmas Carol, Part 3 (Ep. 121) Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

Seasons greetings from Adapt or Perish! In Episode 121, we're taking our third look at Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, and 10 more adaptations from the big and (mostly) small screen.

In this episode, we discuss:

Scrooge (aka Old Scrooge), the 1913 movie, directed by Leedham Bantock, and starring Seymour Hicks
The Stingiest Man in Town, the 1956 musical episode of The Alcoa Hour, directed by Daniel Petrie, book and lyrics by Janice Torrie, music by Fred Spielman, and starring Basil Rathbone, The Four Lads, and Vic Damone
A Christmas Carol, the 1977 BBC special, directed by Moira Armstrong, written by Elaine Morgan, and starring Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, Patricia Quinn, Zoë Wanamaker, and Brian Blessed
The Stingiest Man in Town, the 1978 animated TV special, directed by Katsuhisa Yamada, Jules Bass, and Arthur Rankin, Jr., written by Romeo Muller, and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, Tom Bosley, and Theodore Bikel
An American Christmas Carol, the 1979 TV movie, directed by Eric Till, written by Jerome Coopersmith, and starring Henry Winkler, Dorian Harewood, R.H. Thomson, and David Wayne
Mickey's Christmas Carol, the 1983 Disney short, directed by Burny Mattinson, with story by Mattinson, Tony L. Marino, Ed Gombert, Don Griffith, Alan Young, and Alan Dinehart
A Flintstone's Christmas Carol, the 1994 animated TV special, directed by Joanna Romersa, written by Glenn Leopold, and starring Henry Corden, Jean Vander Pyl, B.J. Ward, Frank Welker, and John Rhys-Davies
A Diva's Christmas Carol, the 2000 VH1 original movie, written and directed by Richard Schenkman, and starring Vanessa Williams, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Brian McNamara, Kathy Griffin, and John Taylor
A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, the 2017 TV special, directed by Richard Boden, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, and starring Lewis, Sayer, Shields, Dave Hearn, Charlie Russell, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Diana Ring, and Derek Jacobi
Spirited, the 2022 movie musical, directed by Sean Anders, written by Anders and John Morris, with songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani, and Patrick Page

Footnotes:

Adapt or Perish Episode 6: A Christmas Carol
Adapt or Perish Episode 107: A Christmas Carol, Part 2
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by The Four Lads
"Heartquake" from A Diva's Christmas Carol
"The Play that Goes Wrong performing at The Royal Variety Performance 2015" (our introduction to The Goes Wrong Show)
This American Life 699: Fiasco!

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

The Secret Garden (Ep. 120) Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

It's about time for us to get to another episode that's been on our to-do list since the show first started, so in Episode 120 of Adapt or Perish we're looking at the children's classic The Secret Garden!

In this episode, we discuss:

Frances Hodgson Burnett's original 1911 novel
The 1949 theatrical movie, directed by Fred M. Wilcox, written by Robert Ardrey, and starring Margaret O'Brien, Brian Roper, Dean Stockwell, Elsa Lanchester, and Reginald Owen
The 1975 series, written and directed by Dorothea Brooking, starring Sarah Hollis Andrews, Andrew Harrison, David Patterson, and John Woodnutt
The 1987 TV movie, directed by Alan Grint, written by Blanche Hanalis, and starring Gennie James, Barret Oliver, Jadrien Steele, Billie Whitelaw, Michael Hordern, Pat Heywood, and Derek Jacobi
The 1991 musical, music by Lucy Simon, book and lyrics by Marsha Norman
The 1991–1992 anime series, directed by Tameo Kohanawa, and written by Kaoru Umeno
The 1993 theatrical movie, directed by Agnieszka Holland, written by Caroline Thompson, and starring Kate Maberly, Andrew Knott, Heydon Prowse, Laura Crossley, John Lynch, and Maggie Smith
The 1994 animated special, directed by Dave Edwards, written by Libby Hinson, and starring Honor Blackman, Derek Jacobi, and Glynis Johns
The 2020 theatrical movie, directed by Marc Munden, written by Jack Thorne, and starring Dixie Egerickx, Amir Wilson, Edan Hayhurst, Colin Firth, Isis Davis, and Julie Walters

Footnotes:

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Death on the Nile (Ep. 119) Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

With Episode 119 of Adapt or Perish, after more than 100 episodes, we're finally returning to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and Death on the Nile!

In this episode, we discuss:

Agatha Christie's original 1937 novel
The 1978 theatrical movie, directed by John Guillermin, written by Anthony Shaffer, and starring Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, and Maggie Smith
The 2004 feature-length episode of Poirot, directed by Andy Wilson, written by Kevin Elyot, and starring David Suchet, Emma Griffiths Malin, Emily Blunt, JJ Field, James Fox, Judy Parfitt, and Frances de la Tour
The 2022 theatrical movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh, written by Michael Green, and starring Branagh, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright

Footnotes:

Adapt or Perish Episode 15: Murder on the Orient Express
Looper (2012)
Playing Shakespeare Episode 8: Exploring a Character with David Suchet and Patrick Stewart
David Suchet and Patrick Stewart collaborating on a scene from King John (NOT Richard III, as we thought in the episode)

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

The Three Musketeers (Ep. 118) Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

Adapt or Perish is back, and with Episode 118, we're taking an extended look at the adventure classic The Three Musketeers! We've also got a new focus for the show, and we can't wait for you to see what we've got planned!

In this episode, we discuss:

Alexandre Dumas' original 1844 novel
The Three Musketeers, the 1921 movie, directed by Fred Nibble, written by Edward Knoblock, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lotta Woods, and starring Fairbanks, Léon Bary, George Siegmann, and Eugene Pallette
The Three Musketeers, the 1935 movie, directed by Rowland V. Lee, written by Lee and Dudley Nichols, and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, and Onslow Stevens
The Three Musketeers, the 1939 movie musical, directed by Alan Dwan, written by William A. Drake, M.M. Musselman, Sam Hellman, Ray Golden, and Sid Kuller, and starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers
The Three Musketeers, the 1948 movie, directed by George Sidney, written by Robert Ardrey, and starring Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, Vincent Price, and Van Heflin
The Three Musketeers, the 1966 series, directed by Peter Hammond, written by Anthony Steven, and starring Jeremy Brett, Brian Blessed, Jeremy Young, Gary Watson, and Richard Pasco
The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, the 1973 and 1974 movies, directed by Richard Lester, written by George MacDonald Fraser, and starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, and Christopher Lee
The Three Musketeers, the 1993 movie, directed by Stephen Herek, written by David Loughery, and starring Chris O'Donnell, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, and Tim Curry
The Musketeer, the 2001 movie, directed by Peter Hyams, written by Gene Quintano, and starring Justin Chambers, Tim Roth, Mena Suvari, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Stephen Rea, and Catherine Deneuve
The Three Musketeers, the 2011 movie, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, written by Anderson and Andrew Davies, and starring Logan German, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen, and Milla Jovovich
The Musketeers, the 2014–2016 series, created by Adrian Hodges, and starring Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, and Luke Pasqualino

Footnotes:

History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday
"Voila" from The Three Musketeers (1939), but seriously, watch the whole thing, it's a delight
Frock Flicks
"All For Love" performed by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Angels in the Outfield (Ep. 117) May 24, 2022

Show notes

With Episode 117 of Adapt or Perish, these indoor kids are tackling the world of sports again with a look at the baseball classic Angels in the Outfield!

In this episode, we discuss:

The 1951 original, directed by Clarence Brown, written by Dorothy Kingsley and George Wells, and starring Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, and Donna Corcoran
The 1994 remake, directed by William Dear, written by Holly Goldberg Sloan, and starring Danny Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brenda Fricker, Tony Danza, and Christopher Lloyd

Footnotes:

Patrick H. Willems' video essay "Why Baseball is the Best Movie Sport"
CollegeHumor's 30 for 30: Angels in the Outfield

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

Clue (Ep. 116) May 10, 2022

Show notes

With Episode 116 of Adapt or Perish, we're taking a look at the classic game of whodunit-with-what-and-where, Clue!

In this episode, we discuss:

Cluedo, the original 1949 board game, created by Anthony E. Pratt and released as Clue in the United States
Clue, the 1985 theatrical movie, written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, and starring Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, and Lesley Ann Warren
Cluedo, the 1990–1993 British game show
Clue The Musical, the 1997 stage musical, book by Peter DePietro, music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker, and Vinnie Martucci, and lyrics by Tom Chiodo
Clue, the 2011 miniseries, created by Raven Metzner, directed by Terry McDonough, and starring Sterling Beaumon, Sarah Desjardins, Kendall Amyre Ferguson, Ana Golja, Stephan James, and Zach Mills

Footnotes:

You can follow Adapt or Perish on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you can find us and all of our show notes online at adaptorperishcast.com.

If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at adaptorperishcast@gmail.com.

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