Staff Picks: BroadwayWorld Selects Movie Musicals That Are Better Then the Stage Shows
By: Nicole Rosky Apr. 14, 2020
As theatre fans everywhere prepare for another two months without Broadway, BroadwayWorld wants to make sure that you stay sane while social distancing. What better time to brush up on some of the movie musicals you always wanted to see, but never had the time to; or to listen to that cast recording that always eluded you; or watch that Youtube performance that everyone's been talking about?
Need inspiration? The BroadwayWorld team has come together to help guide your musical quarantine journey. Today, we bring you just a few recommendations for:
A movie musical that's better than the stage show...
"The tweaks made to Grease for the film certainly made it a much better movie than stage show. Audiences were able to sympathize with the characters more, as the plot of the original became more centered on Danny and Sandy's romance rather than everything happening around them. The additional songs also ended up being hit songs we've seen incorporated into subsequent productions of the stage show, which is pretty neat!" - Danny Decker, Marketing Associate
"Grease because I always associate that show and those songs with the film first. It just translated to the screen so well. I was also really impressed with how well the live production was with Aaron Tveit, Julianne Hough, Vanessa Hudgens, and more. It was so enjoyable!" - Taylor Brethauer, Social Media Manager
"Chicago. Hands down Rob Marshall directed the heck out of this show, and I think put together the ultimate staging of the piece. The performances are top notch, but the ability to cut in and out of the realistic environments is something that is unachievable on stage and makes this show feel like it was written for film and not stage."- Alex Freeman, Regional Sales Manager
"Chicago - There's a reason it won the Academy Award for Best Picture! The musical translated to film insanely well, from the sets to the cast, it's just better on screen in my eyes!" -Kaitlin Milligan, Entertainment Editor
"This is more of a play with songs, but as much as I like Peter Nichols' Privates On Parade on stage, the film added great sections that simulated newsreel footage. And John Cleese is wonderful as a stuffy British Army Major who finds himself in command of a song and dance unit entertaining troupes during the Malayan Emergency." -Michael Dale, Senior Theatre Critic
"The Producers! I think that it thrives on screen and the cuts they made were genius. Also, Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman just make for brilliant on screen collaborators. I wish they'd do more stuff together." - Alan Henry, Regional Managing Editor
"West Side Story. They made a number of changes for the film that serve the story so much better. Adding the Sharks to 'America'. Swapping 'Officer Krupke' and 'Cool'. Turning 'Somewhere' into a duet for Tony and Maria. It's a vast narrative improvement over the stage show." - Alexa Criscitiello, Newsdesk Editor
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