I love them both and can't decide but I must say... the movie was much easier to follow and I found the movie to be sadder than the show... I think this is only because I saw a recent cast in the show and they didn't seem to enjoy themselves very much... If I had seen the OBC, I'm sure I would have liked the stage version better!
The musical no question. And I will admit that I enjoyed the cast I saw more than the OBC (except for Anthony... Matt Caplan was good but wasn't Anthony's level of amazing).
LOVED both, but I like the stage show better. I hate that they left out so much.
I truly loved the flashbacks, however. Those were great. Also, during Without You when they flashed to the Life Support group, and they disappeared, I literally said, "oh my God" out loud. That was incredibly moving.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
I have to say I liked the movie better. I think the cast made all the difference for me. The movie cast was AMAZING!!! I saw Drew Lachey in the stage show...I wasn't too impressed after seeing that show! I would like to see it again (hopefully with a better cast)! I loved the movie!!
Having seen the film and the stage production, I would say the stage production without any hesitation. Contact, Christmas Bells, the tuneups, and the voicemails add a certain charm and sexiness to the material that's lacking in the film. Also, the characterizations ring true for me on stage but don't work at all on film (at least not with Chris Columbus writing and directing). It's like throwing The Brady Bunch in the middle of modern L.A. but nowhere near as fun.
they are two differnt mediums, the movie has strong points and can convey the message in only a way that television and film can, while nothing can beat seeing the show live...
i loved the movie and the stage show but to compare the two is impossible