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Quadrophenia: How does the cult film compare with the stage version?

A classic album, then a cult film in 1979, Quadrophenia has now remerged as a musical. The move from vinyl to the big screen was a roaring success: but what of the transformation form big screen to stage?
The set for the musical is well constructed but the plot is clearly limited by the limitations of stage. With a band on stage each set has to be moved around: the street, a cafe, Jimmy’s home, and Brighton Dance Hall. The action becomes frenetic and distorts the watcher’s ability to place each scene in any particular location. Although Act 2, set in Brighton, is easier to follow than the London based scenes of Act 1, one has to read the programme notes to understand the action. In relying upon songs to relay the story the plot becomes confused.
Quadrophenia the movie deals with the sets and storyline in much more depth because of its ability to move around locations. The public baths, terraced houses motorbikes alleyways, London cafes and Dancehalls all create a setting which takes the viewer to the world of the sixites Mod. Clever shots of bikers arriving in Brighton enable the film watcher to sense the distance between rebellious teenager and home based parent. The street fights and beach scenes enable the film audience to visualize the youth phenomenon in a way that the stage with its gang attack on a lone rocker, does not.
When analyzing the themes within each there is a similar mismatch in terms of the depth that the musical achieves compared to the film. A major theme in both is the generation gap: a rebellious teenager whose parents do not understand his dreams and neither does he. The coming of age searching for identity is evident in both genres. However the musical, a revisiting of the themes in the film, is unable to deal with moral attitudes around in 1960s England, in a way that the film achieves.
Jimmy within the film is seeking an alternative to his hum drum life as part of a teenage gang, Jimmy within the musical is angry and confused but it isn’t evident why he feels this way. The musical is almost an exploration of his state of mind rather than the voice of a generation on the move, which he represents within the film. His issues within the large screen seem to be caused by his humdrum surroundings but in the musical the interpretation suggests that it is different character traits that cause his inner turmoil.
In the stage show the Face is clearly a snazzy dresser who also works as a Bell Boy but within the film we see a fuller, anti hero, who appears at work, in the dance hall, on the beach and within the court. The film buff sees several aspects of his character not just his ability to strut like a peacock straightening his cuffs and collar. The film offers the explanation for Jimmy and The Face’s behavior in terms of their escape from boring day jobs in ways which the musical because of its lack of narrative cannot achieve.
Perhaps the greatest difference between the two genres is this presentation of character. In the musical the characters work extremely hard to move the audience from their comfort zone into high energy world of The Mods on a weekend away. The film can cut to night club to house party, beach scenes, and support several characterizations and sub plots. Jimmy’s relationship with his parents and work colleagues is much more obvious within the film. His position within the pecking order of Mods is apparent. In the stage show it isn’t easy to determine if he is leader or led. This is not helped by the number of characters playing Jimmy in the stage show.
The musical may have gained more critical acclaim if it had been written in between the album and the film rather than after the latter. As a result of the limitations what is a great album, come cult film becomes poorer as a piece of musical theatre. It is popular because of its association with its predecessors, rather than in its own right.Quad