And I am having a hard time coming up with a good answer. Even if you were to accept the idea that the genres of Sci-fi and fantasy are incapable of depth - an idea that even Tom wouldn't agree with - that still doesn't explain why there are so few plays or musicals of the genre. The only way that that would make logical sense would be if all plays or musicals required depth by definition, which obviously isn't true.

So I think that the superficial quality of most genre fiction is, at most, one of several factors that prevent the rise of sci-fi/fantasy plays and musicals.


Other factors... hmm... Well, I'll take a crack at it.

Easiest first: special effects. One of the big draws of sci-fi and fantasy is the setting, and maybe that's harder to get in a play. But that's still a bit off, because the perceived need for special effects is just a crutch, and if the impetus was there playwrights could just get really creative with their set pieces. Just like they do with any other play.

Another one that occurred to me was that plays tend to be more character-driven and less plot-driven than your typical sci-fi/fantasy story... except that that's not necessarily the case. We get all sorts of very plot-driven plays, and often times the characters are transparently archetypal, which is a trait that they actually share with sci-fi and fantasy. And sci-fi and fantasy still have their share of character-driven narratives.

Maybe it's something to do with audience? The sort of people who are attracted to plays and musicals are not the same people who tend to read and appreciate sci-fi and fantasy? Even this doesn't feel right to me; I think it's more a symptom of a problem than the cause.

I'm stumped. But great question.

EDIT: I think it's likely that there are more sci-fi and fantasy plays out there than I think, too. Maybe someone more versed in the medium can confirm this.