The Talking Dogs Of Mahudes
by Miguel CervantesGenre: Comedy
Setting:
Format of Original Source: Novella
Recommended Adaptation Length: Two Hours
Candidate for Adaptation? Not Likely
EXCERPT:
“Ever since I had strength enough to gnaw a bone I have longed for the power of speech, that I might utter a multitude of things I had laid up in my memory, and which lay there so long that they were growing musty or almost forgotten. Now, however, that I see myself so unexpectedly enriched with this divine gift of speech, I intend to enjoy it and avail myself of it as much as I can, taking pains to say everything I can recollect.”
COMMENTS:
Two dogs suddenly find themselves with the power of speech for one night. The “dialogue” consists of Scipio recounting his adventures with various masters, how he was loved or mistreated and his sharp judgments of the humans he has encountered. The other dog, Berganza, never gets to tell his story because Scipio is so long-winded, but he intersperses some comments. Merely musicalizing the dialogue would probably not result in an interesting musical. If the writer dramatized the various adventures, the show would be episodic and therefore problematic. A difficult adaptation, at best. [HB]
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