Friday 22nd November saw the release of Wicked to cinemas. The highly anticipated film has caused lots of buzz, partly because of its star-studded cast including Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, but also because it is based on the second-highest grossing Broadway musical of all time. Stage musicals and film musicals are often influenced by each other; many long-running musicals such as The Lion King and Billy Elliot were originally adapted from films. However, film adaptations from stage musicals are more common, though the success of these adaptations varies greatly. This article will explore how film musicals can enhance the stage musicals they are based on, and show successful and unsuccessful examples of these adaptations.
One of the most successful stage-to-screen adaptations has to be Mamma Mia! Its setting in sunny Greece and its famous cast of Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, and Amanda Seyfried soon made it a beloved classic, grossing $611.4 million at the box office. The stage musical it was based on has also been tremendously successful; according to Judy Craymer, it has grossed over £4.5 billion worldwide. It continues to run in the West End, and with the release of a sequel film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018, both the stage musical and its film adaptation are rare in being equally as successful. In contrast, the 1978 release of Grease soon outshone the original stage musical it was adapted from, to the point where its revivals onwards adopted several song and character changed made by the film. The first revival was in 1979, a year after the film release, showing the impact of the film in keeping the musical popular.
Image: London’s West End by Eamonn Wang via Unsplash.
This doesn’t mean that all stage-to-screen adaptations have met with success. Despite the continuing success of West Side Story as a stage musical, the 2021 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg flopped at the box office despite positive reviews from critics and audiences. The same can be said for the adaptation of In the Heights (2021), which also failed to break even at the box office. Conversely, although the 2014 adaptation of Annie was successful in revenue, it received largely negative critical reviews, with a rating of 33 on Metacritic. However, it is Tom Hooper’s Cats (2019) which takes the crown for the worst stage-to-screen adaptation. The film initially seemed to have good prospects, as it featured several famous actors including Judi Dench and Idris Elba. Unfortunately, the attempted use of CGI fur on the actors to transform them into cats instead made them look like humans with fur. The trailer of the film quickly became infamous, while the box office saw an estimated loss of $113.6 million. The potential for film adaptations of stage musicals to be incredibly popular or highly ridiculed means that any money and time invested in them can be risky – but the risk is always worth it if the film turns out to be enjoyable.
Image: Broadway, New York by Florian Wehde via Unsplash.
Film is a vastly different medium to drama, meaning that it can present musicals in innovative and contrasting ways from the stage. Thanks to modern technology, film productions can use visual and special effects to bring the stories of stage musicals to life. With the notable exception of Cats, these effects create a positive viewer experience, making it look like characters are performing magic, walking on walls, or flying. These feats are incredibly tricky to pull off in stage musicals, with lots of logistics and planning required to create these illusions. It can also be difficult to see what’s happening on a theatre stage, especially if you’re in the cheap seats at the back of the theatre. This means you might miss out on costume and set details, or if you are particularly unlucky, you might have an obstructed view of the stage. On the other hand, you’re guaranteed to get a good view of a film musical, since cinemas are much smaller than theatres, and the camera can zoom right on the action. Films with a big budget are also able to shoot in many locations, which can add to the viewer experience. Would Mamma Mia! have been so successful if it hadn’t been filmed on beautiful Greek islands? Although some stage musicals have beautiful set designs, they cannot have as many varieties of setting compared to film adaptations.
Image: Skopelos Island, Greece, where ‘Mamma Mia!’ was filmed. Image by Evgenia Stergioula via Unsplash.
Though they both use the same stories, stage musicals and their film adaptations bring them to life in completely different ways. Despite this, they are mutually beneficial to each other, as stage musicals allow film adaptations to get made in the first place, while the film adaptations can contribute to revivals of stage musicals and help them to run for longer. So whether you prefer stage to screen or vice versa, musicals will continue to thrive in both formats.