It’s one of the most consistently innovative creative platforms in America, and even if you’ve never been to New York or taken a seat in a playhouse, the chances are that you’ve seen something produced by Broadway – on the big screen. How did it get there? Here, we take a look.
Why adapt from Broadway?
What is it about Broadway that gets movie producers so excited? Simply put, they like a sure bet, and although there are never any cast-iron guarantees in the entertainment business, knowing that a story has proven popular appeal in at least one version is a good start. The overlap between theater-goers and movie fans isn’t actually that big, so a production transferring to the big screen doesn’t face a serious risk of rejection because it’s been seen before. Rather, good word of mouth carried across from its stage days tends to generate interest and gives it the potential to draw in a whole new crowd.
Making changes
What works on the big screen and what works in the theater is subtly different, so good adaptations can’t put faithfulness too high up on the agenda. Instead, they usually try to capture the spirit of the story while shifting the focus. Some adaptations, such as Chicago and Annie, make successful use of spectacular visual elements established on stage, but gone are the days when chorus lines packed out movie theaters, so there’s generally a stronger focus on drama, which tends to result in the songs from musicals being reduced in number. Because movie viewers get a better view of the actors’ faces, there’s more room for nuance and an intimate approach to drama.
Hollywood hits
No tale has made the transition from stage to screen quite as successfully as West Side Story, which, for all that it may look a bit cheesy today, still has the power to tug on the heartstrings and, back in 1961, won a total of 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. If you’re looking for an enduring fan favorite, though, it has to be The Sound of Music, which built on the stage show by incorporating the breathtaking Alpine landscape in ways that left viewers stunned. Then there’s Grease, which wasn’t really a big deal when it first graced the stage so represented a brave investment, but it really paid off thanks to stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Some of the most popular works enjoy multiple incarnations, such as Fiddler on the Roof, recently relaunched on Broadway by Louise Gund, which has drawn in the crowds partly thanks to their familiarity with Norman Jewison’s movie. Of course, it’s not always in Hollywood that the magic happens – Les Misérables was filmed no fewer than 15 times before Ladj Ly’s French-language version finally captured the wow factor, along with Oscar and César nominations.
Not every Broadway to Hollywood adaptation is widely recognized as such. Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street proved popular with audiences and critics alike, even if the singing wasn’t as good as it might have been thanks to Burton’s habit of casting his friends, but relatively few of its fans realized that it was based on a 1971 Stephen Sondheim show.
Notable misses
Universal
Few films based on musicals have attracted quite as much excitement as Tom Hooper’s Cats, which seemed, based on the Broadway show’s success, as if it was going to be huge. Few films have attracted quite so many negative reviews, with many critics expressing not just disappointment but also abject horror at the sight of stars such as Jennifer Hudson and Judi Dench dancing around in leotards with a serious uncanny valley quality. The public had a similar reaction.
Mel Brooks’ The Producers was a huge onscreen hit in 1967 with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and managed to recapture that success on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, but when those two actors took it back to the screen, the results were awful, and not in a way that had the audience – or the studio – laughing.
Coming soon
Hollywood’s appetite for Broadway productions shows no sign of going away. A new adaptation of West Side Story is due out at the end of this year, directed by Steven Spielberg, while Spielberg’s version of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, having been transformed into a stage musical, is coming back to the screen. There’s also talk of Gypsy, Guys and Dolls and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat being turned into films within the next couple of years.
Hollywood’s fascination with Broadway means that there’s always a new adaptation in the works – and they’re not always the ones that you might expect. If you’re in New York and you fancy catching a show that’s just opened, bear in mind that you might be getting a sneak peek at the next big thing to wow movie fans.
