Home

Dr Christopher Wiley writes about Stephen Sondheim for The Conversation

1 December 2021

Christopher Wiley Media, Publication, Research , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Dr Christopher Wiley has written an article for The Conversation (by invitation) on Stephen Sondheim (pictured), who died on 26 November 2021 at the age of 91.

Dr Wiley’s contribution, entitled ‘Five of Stephen Sondheim’s best shows’, was published just a few days later on 1 December 2021. It discussed Sondheim alongside his musicals West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods, each of which was profiled in the article.

This is the fourth time that Dr Wiley has contributed to The Conservation, a global news website that offers commentary on news stories from leading academics. His most recent article, again on musical theatre, was published just over a year ago.

Bibliographic citation

Wiley, Christopher. ‘Five of Stephen Sondheim’s best shows’. The Conversation, 1 December 2021. <https://theconversation.com/five-of-stephen-sondheims-best-shows-172916>.

Update: Dr Wiley’s article has now been viewed over 30,000 times. It has been republished multiple times, including by The Theatre Times, Facts & Acts, and New York City News. It was the ninth most-read piece written by University of Surrey academics for The Conversation in 2021–22.

Dr Christopher Wiley writes on stage-to-screen musical adaptations for The Conversation

10 November 2020

Christopher Wiley Media, Publication, Research , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Dr Christopher Wiley contributed an article to The Conversation (by invitation) on film adaptations of stage musicals, published on 10 November 2020.

Entitled ‘The Prom: the challenges of adapting the stage to the screen’, Dr Wiley’s article was prompted by the upcoming release of the film adaptation of the musical The Prom on Netflix on 11 December 2020, while also discussing other examples such as A Chorus Line, Mamma mia!, and Cats.

This is the third time that Dr Wiley has written for The Conversation, his other articles being a piece on the 30th anniversary of the musical Les Misérables, and a scholarly response to Stephen Fry. Collectively these have received some 8,000 hits to date.

Founded in Australia in 2011 and launched in the UK in 2013, The Conversation is an independent global news website featuring stories and opinions from the scholarly community. The University of Surrey is one of its 13 founding UK partners.

Bibliographic citation

Wiley, Christopher. ‘The Prom: the challenges of adapting the stage to the screen’. The Conversation, 10 November 2020. <https://theconversation.com/the-prom-the-challenges-of-adapting-the-stage-to-the-screen-149783>.

Dr Christopher Wiley writes on ‘Les Misérables at 30’ for The Conversation

7 October 2015

Christopher Wiley Media, Publication, Research , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Les MisérablesDr Christopher Wiley has contributed an article to The Conversation on the enduring popularity of Les Misérables, the world’s most successful musical, ahead of the 30th anniversary of its London production on 8 October 2015.

Dr Wiley’s article, ‘Les Misérables at 30: breaking hearts and records’, discussed aspects of the show’s plot and musical score, the role played by writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and by producer Cameron Mackintosh, as well as more recent developments such as Tom Hooper’s 2012 film adaptation.

The full article may be read here: https://theconversation.com/les-miserables-at-30-breaking-hearts-and-records-48535

This is the second time that Dr Wiley has written for The Conversation, the first being a scholarly response to Stephen Fry, which has received 4,000 hits to date.

Founded in Australia in 2011 and launched in the UK in 2013, The Conversation is an independent global news website featuring stories and opinions sourced from the scholarly community. The University of Surrey is one of its founding UK partners.

Update: Dr Wiley’s Les Misérables article received over 1,300 hits by the end of 8 October (UK time), with readers fairly evenly distributed between the UK, US, Australia, and Continental Europe.

Dr Christopher Wiley writes for The Conversation UK

12 August 2013

Christopher Wiley Media, Publication, Research , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Anti-gay prejudice protestDr Christopher Wiley has contributed an article to The Conversation UK, reflecting on aspects of Stephen Fry’s open letter on Russia’s controversial new anti-gay laws (which called for a ban on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) from his own perspective as musicologist, scholar, and teacher.

One claim that Fry made in his letter about the potential consequences of exploring Tchaikovsky’s sexuality and its relationship to his life and work under Russia’s controversial new legislation prompted Dr Wiley to reconsider elements of his own research on musical biography, not just on Tchaikovsky but also on Britten and Ethel Smyth.

Published on 12 August 2013 shortly after Fry’s letter went viral, Dr Wiley’s article, ‘Academics should stand with Fry against anti-gay Russia’, broke new ground for The Conversation UK for its content. It soon received thousands of views, helped in part by a mention by Fry himself on Twitter three days after it originally appeared.

Stephen Fry - Twitter feed

The Conversation UK is an independent news and commentary website offering in-depth analysis, research, news, and ideas from academics and researchers, and has received over 300,000 visitors since its launch three months ago. Modelled on its successful Australian counterpart, its founding partners comprise 13 UK universities including City University London and the University of Surrey.