Bill Condon Says Most Broadway Musicals Shouldn’t Be Adapted for Film

Ahead of the release of Kiss of the Spider Woman, director Bill Condon sat down with The Hollywood Reporter, where he shared his thoughts about the art (and difficulties) of bringing stage musicals to the big screen.

"I don’t think there are that many Broadway shows that should be films. It’s a really, really high bar," said Condon, who previously directed such movie musicals as Dreamgirls and Beauty and the Beast. He went on to explain how the limits of the film as a form can often make it a challenging endeavor, highlighting Bob Fosse's decision to only include the stage numbers in his film adaptation of Cabaret "because of the realistic nature of the medium." This approach was also utilized by Rob Marshall in Chicago and Condon in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

"Now, there’s also another strain of musicals," Condon continued." Wicked is a great example — a very successful musical that does have people break out into song. But I think almost always, you have to really set the table for that carefully. Wicked, for example, lives in a fantasy world, and that helps tremendously."

He explained that, despite Hollywood's reluctance to finance major blockbuster musicals, there is an audience appetite for the genre- but with caveats. "They love musicals, but they have to be permitted. They need some permission slip to really give themselves over to it. And I think that’s always something that movie musicals are negotiating."

Check out the full interview with Condon, who also comments on the use of live singing in movie musicals, his adaptation choices in his film of Dreamgirls, and the backlash to making LeFou a gay character in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Condon's latest movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and will arrive in theaters on October 10, 2025.

About Kiss of the Spider Woman

Bill Condon’s new adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman is based on the acclaimed 1976 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Argentinian writer Manuel Puig and the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name by the multiple Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, Ragtime) and composer/lyricist team John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago). The original musical debuted on Broadway in 1993, going on to win seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Several of the performers also took home awards, including Chita Rivera.

Valentín (Luna/">Diego Luna), a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). Find out what critics thought of the movie here.

Written for the screen and directed by Bill Condon, this visually stunning and emotionally charged adaptation stars Emmy Award® nominee Luna/">Diego Luna (Andor, Y tu mamá también), Tonatiuh (Carry On, Promised Land), and Emmy®, Grammy® and Golden Globes Award-nominated superstar Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Out of Sight), who also serves as an executive producer alongside Luna. Produced by Barry Josephson, p.g.a., Tom Kirdahy, p.g.a., and Greg Yolen, p.g.a.

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions