"High Fidelity" musical fails to match book, movie

NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) Nick Hornby's best-selling novel ''High Fidelity,'' whose characters concocted endless quirky top-five lists, has been made into a Broadway musical that critics rate among the top five that should never have been made.

The musical ''High Fidelity'' is adapted from Hornby's 1995 funny and quirky tale about a record store owner losing his girlfriend, which was later made into a hit film. It opened on Broadway on Thursday night.

But if the reviews are any indication, the show may have a short run.

''High Fidelity' definitely deserves a place in my own catalog of top five lists. That would be on the roster of All-Time Most Forgettable Musicals,'' said New York Times critic Ben Brantley.

The novel was set in London and the film version released in 2000 starring John Cusack moved the story to Chicago, adding American references. The musical is set in Brooklyn, New York.

New York post critic Clive Barnes, noting the musical was ''a long way from Hornby's London,'' said the show's music was unmemorable leading to ''material that hits a Top Five list of what should never have been used in a musical.'' Hornby, who relinquished rights to the story when the book became a film, told Reuters before the show's opening that he was supportive of the musical.

''I don't feel protective of the book at all because the book will always survive, and if it doesn't, it won't have anything to do with what sort of job people do with the musical,'' he said.

Hornby acknowledged the irony of putting his characters, who ridicule others for their musical tastes, in a standard Broadway musical. ''There is also a strain of music snobbery in musicals,'' he added.

Some critics compared the musical to other shows transformed from the screen to the stage that failed to impress critics including ''The Wedding Singer,'' which premiered in April and still plays on Broadway.

''Should a traditional Broadway musical even try and be hip? That's one of the questions 'High Fidelity' raises as it reaches for credibility mocking easy targets like Celine Dion and John Tesh,'' said Variety's David Rooney.

''This bland show is crippled by its failure to convincingly tap the pulse of pop culture or to mine the romantic heartache of its source material.'' REUTERS PB ND0940