Which classic musical should be made (or remade) into a movie?
Friday, December 28, 2018 at 10:07AM by Nathaniel R
With the news that a recent stripped down experimental version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! was coming to Broadway in April 2019, we thought it might be interesting to look at the "Most Often Revived Musicals on Broadway". The list is as follows:
- Porgy & Bess (8 times)
- Threepenny Opera (7 times)
- Showboat (7 times)
- Peter Pan (6 times)
- Pal Joey (6 times)
- Guys & Dolls (6 times)
- Fiddler on the Roof (6 times)
- Carousel (6 times)
- ... and Oklahoma! will be joining this list in a handful of months.
- It can't really be a top ten since a plethora of shows have been on Broadway 5 times.
More on that list and movie versions after the jump...
If we're going to redo a Natalie Wood musical shouldn't it have been Gypsy (1962) instead of West Side Story (1961)?
I was surprised that Gypsy doesn't make the list. Turns out it's had only five Broadway runs. Two of them (Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone revivals) were within the last 15 years plus that there's recent Imelda Staunton version in the West End (the best Gypsy I've personally ever seen) that made a lot of noise but didn't transfer all of which gives the impression that it's the most revived. But it's not.
The King and I, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly! and West Side Story have also had 5 runs. Other frequent titles? Jesus Christ Superstar has had 4 productions and Kiss Me Kate is getting its 4th on Broadway in March 2019 with Kelli O'Hara leading. Stephen Sondheim's shows aren't revived as much as you think on Broadway though they're abundant in concert versions and regional and Off Broadway productions. His most revived shows on Broadway are Company and Sunday in the Park With George (4 times) with Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd tied for second place (3 times each)
BUT WHAT OF THE MOVIE MUSICAL?
With the very successful resurrection of the movie musical genre over the past 18 years and Mary Poppins Returns settling in for a good long run in movie theaters (musicals tend to have legs), we must wonder why Hollywood isn't greenlighting more classics? Or if they are it's films that don't really need a remake like West Side Story (already sufficiently brilliant). If you stop to think about it for a few minutes, which Hollywood executives obviously should given the 100s of millions in potential revenue, you'll realize that many of those nine titles listed up top -- titles that have more than proved staying power and saleability -- don't really have definitive film versions.
Not that all of them need a new movie! Peter Pan should definitely stay grounded for another 50 years as that particular tale is now far too oft-told (particularly at the movies) and the most recent screen interpretations of the story have suggested that audiences are sick to death of it (Pan at the movies flopped and that live musical version on TV was one of the least watched / least liked of the recent wave of live TV musicals). There are other titles that don't need remakes: Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma!'s film versions are beloved enough that there probably isn't much point in a do over... at least not before some other classics get a fair shot at big screen glory.
But what about the other six most revived titles and their film versions? Let's discuss!
Porgy & Bess
This operatic musical tragedy would surely be a prestigious hit as a film with the right cast and creative team. Audra McDonald and particularly Norm Lewis were sensational in the most recent Broadway revival about a disabled man and the prostitute he falls for. It's a pity that Hollywood would never give them a chance at a film version because they're both gorgeous with truly sensational voices. There was a film version made in 1959 (nominated for four Oscars, winning the now defunct category "Best Scoring of a Musical Picture") but it's rarely screened and hasn't been available to the public in a long time (The Gershwin Estate doesn't think it's faithful enough). What's more, the material begs for an update in today's climate where authenticity and representation are both so rightly valued. The original, directed by Otto Preminger, starred a who's who of black stars of the time including Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll, Sammy Davis Jr, and Pearl Bailey among others. Imagine how electric it could be with a black director and stars who didn't need to be dubbed (difficult operatic score there - most of the stars in '59 were dubbed though Davis and Bailey in supporting roles did their own vocals).
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: DESPERATELY
Threepenny Opera
Hmmm, another one about prostitutes and beggars! Brecht & Weill's politically charged adaptation of The Beggars Opera is a classic with at least a couple of immortal endlessly performed songs. It was most recently on Broadway in a 2006 production starring Alan Cumming as Mack the Knife and a sensational Cyndi Lauper as Pirate Jenny (she was absolutely robbed of a Tony nomination). This one has been made into a movie a couple of times in Europe but none of the versions are famous in the US. That said it's very much a stage beast so it's tough to imagine a movie working.
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: Only if someone feels very inspired about it.
Showboat
This 1927 show about the new leading lady of a performing river boat is one of the most influential Broadway musicals ever, completely changing how musicals were then constructed/perceived. And that was just for its storytelling, never mind its storyline about interracial romance and prejudice. It's already had two-ish film versions, a partial talkie in 29 followed by the classic James Whale / Irene Dunne version in 1936 and the 1951 remake but in both cases the material was compromised by Hollywood mores and casting practices of the time. The leading lady, to cite just one example, is meant to be a biracial woman passing as white, and in both cases she was played by a white woman. Helen Morgan had the role in the first two black and white versions and Ava Gardner has the role in the latter technicolor version (which clearly should have gone to Lena Horne, who wanted it). Gardner was at her peak beauty but she's dubbed when Lena Horne wouldn't have needed to be. Doesn't this classic deserve a retelling? There are hugely classic songs in its score and great roles for actors of color. I mean, wouldn't whoever played Julie and Joe have easy tracks to Oscar nods if they nailed the pathos of "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine" and "Old Man River" respectively? It's also easy to imagine the film being an utter ravishment in the hands of a great cinematographer, costume designer, and production designer.
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: Yes. It's got deep roots in American popular culture and the songs are great and it might even feel timely (as period pieces sometimes can) with the right team.
Pal Joey
You can stream this 1957 musical on Amazon Prime. It stars Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, and Kim Novak (dubbed) in a love triangle about an egotistical nightclub singer and the two women he loves. It was nominated for four craft Oscars but compared to Frank Sinatra's other 1950s musicals it doesn't have that high a profile.
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: This one will do for now. Let's get some other classics redone first.
Guys & Dolls
Another Frank Sinatra movie musical nominated for four craft Oscars, this one about a gambler (Marlon Brando) and a sister missionary (Jean Simmons) falling for each other. Lots of great songs but this is an awkward film version, if you ask me. Probably because the secondary couple Sinatra and Viviane Blaine (reprising her Broadway breakout role of Miss Adelaide) are gifted at the musical form and the main couple (Brando & Simmons) are not.
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: Given the musical comedy's giant reputation on stage versus what we see onscreen, despite those legendary stars, we'd say sure, why not?
Carousel
One of the greatest scores ever written in musical theater but the story is such an unwieldy mess and the toxic masculinity and spousal abuse makes it a tough watch.
Needs a Definitive Film Version Verdict: Probably not. A new film version could excel in a lot of ways visually and sonically but the recent Broadway revival shows that the book feels next to unworkable still, so unless there was a major reinterpretation/rewrite.
YOUR TURN. Which of these would you really love to see new film versions of? Or do you only want newer musicals to be adapted since there are so many of them, too.
Reader Comments (34)
Company! With Oscar Isaac.
I think I remember reading somewhere that Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt need to do a remake of Guys and Dolls; I'd watch that version.
I could see Showboat or Pal Joey (I like the existing Guys & Dolls too much to prioritize remaking that), but I'd really rather see Follies (and A Little Night Music since that film is a mess - but between the two, Follies). I'd also be all about On the Twentieth Century if Kristin Chenoweth was cast in the film.
I second Company. I always thought that Spike Lee could absolutely nail this. It's surprising that there never seems to be any talk of a movie adaptation, given how frequently it seems to be revived.
Spielberg should've done Porgy & Bess instead of a remake of West Side Story. That could've been spectacular. Grand visuals, with real singers.
And can we get a redo on Sweeney Todd? Again, real singers!!! I would throw in Nine, but at least they manged both a killer intro and that oh so perfect ending.
There are so many musicals that have not been filmed yet- why remade them- someone suggested "Company". I can see a remake of "Gypsy" because they could be more realistic with the the strippers.
“Porgy and Bess” with Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis! It doesn’t really matter how old the protagonists are (?) so they could still make this.
My other choice would be “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever” directed by Peyton Reed with choreography by Susan Stroman.
I hadn’t realized the stage version was written for Barbara Harris. Although I do like the movie with Barbra Streisand, she’s often statuesque rather than spritely. A quick and clever movie version would be fun, with lots of real dancing by real dancers.
I know this is not the topic, but since it is brought up, am I the only one who is interested in a remake of West Side Story? Not because I think there's anything wrong with the 1961 version (I saw it four times this year after many years of not seeing, man is it good!), but because I feel like the story means something different in this time period than it did back in 1961 and it would be great to see a version of West Side Story that reflects that. It's a story that is incredibly relevant today and while you could still get that relevancy in the 1961 film, it does have several strikes against it from an audience that's calling for representation (as enchanting as Natalie Wood is, they probably won't accept a Maria is not a Latina) and for actors to do their own singing (most of the actors in the 1961 film are at least partially dubbed, which was common practice back then, but with the Internet and news of film productions leaking faster, you can't get away with that as easily now). I would really like to see a version of West Side Story that incorporates more of these ideas on immigration, a struggling abandoned youth, and above everything else, hate. That's a topic that I feel is worth revisiting on the screen, which is why I think this story is relevant. Plus, I would love it if the film were fully bilingual (Lin-Manuel Miranda actually translated the Sharks' singing into Spanish for the 2009 revival, including I Feel Pretty and Anita singing A Boy Like That, it would be great to see those translations used here).
FOLLIES please
I'm with the other Andrew. Follies is a given. There's something there, but it'll take a real vision to handle the flashbacks, experimental limbo stage pieces. But it's incredibly prismatic and cinematic.
I was thinking the other day how wonderfully fun a new Guys and Dolls could be especially if Lady Gaga played Miss Adelaide.
As much as I love Carousel i think the subject matter of the story would be very tough to adapt in any meaningful way in the #MeToo era.
I really enjoy frivolous nonsense from the 20s/30s. I don't know about their commercial appeal, but I'd like to see fluff like Gershwin's Lady Be Good or Cole Porter's Anything Goes, or something like 42nd Street. On the Twentieth Century would also be welcome. Show Boat is the greatest musical ever and they could remake it annually as far as I'm concerned.
Follies with Streep!
NONE.
Yes, it's a very problematical story in today's world, but I would love to see Carousel redone. The fifties film makes some awful mistakes, like rejiggering (<= pun intended!) the story's timeframe, and this musical could relly benefit from a less "opulent, colorful widescreen", more naturalistic, treatment.
There were rumors a few years back that Hugh Jackman had the film rights and wanted to play Billy Bigelow... and that would be awesome. I mean for Soliloquy and If I Loved You alone!
La La Land shoukd have convinced people to make original musicals instead of adapting Broadway juggernauts.
Could we please put to rest the old refrain that Lena Horne should have played Julie in the 1951 "Show Boat"? (And Julie, by the way, isn't the show's lead, just a very prominent supporting character). She's also supposed to be a black or bi-racial woman who successfully passes for white in the ultra race conscious south of the 19th century. Beautiful and accomplished as she was, Lena Horne still couldn't have done that. Judy Garland was at one point attached to the part. Dinah Shore was also in the running. Dorothy Lamour and Yvonne De Carlo had their eyes on it. too. And all could have delivered with aplomb. But in the end I think Ava Gardner was really splendid in the role. She even did her own singing initially, though nervous execs replaced her vocals at the last minute with tracks from someone who hit the notes but with far less emotional resonance. To this day, the soundtrack LP's and CD's retain Ava's singing and it's lovely. With today's laudable trend toward colorblind casting, a non-white actress as Julie could work fine. But to play a character who looked white to all the other characters onscreen, 1951 audiences simply would've expected an actress who looked white to them.
Ken- Thank you. Agree.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - but gender-role reversed, with all those those dudes locked up in a cabin, running around in their underwear singing about getting married in June. Yeesh.
They were going to do a version of "Follies" but set in an old Hollywood studio imagine if this had been done in 1970s? How about "A Chorus Line"- the movie is terrible I saw the show several times and while I think it might be a bit too theatrical an imaginative director could turn into a good film.
Puts on theatre geek hat
a) Gypsy is a Sondheim show.
b) Follies has also had three productions.
c) Musicals that I think would be amazing on screen
i. Foillies. Starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. Directed by Todd Haynes
ii. City of Angels. Starring Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Jackman. Directed by Steve McQueen
Also On the 20th Century, The Most Happy Fella, The Golden Apple, Man of La Mancha, Kiss of the Spider Woman (revive this, pronto)...
arkaaan -- technicality. I think. calling Gypsy a sondheim show is like calling west side story a sondheim show. He contributed to both of course but at least for me when i think of "sondheim shows" i think of primary authorship. i love the idea of Todd Haynes doing Follies!
Nathaniel, are you going to write a Mary Poppins review?
Yeah that's fair. I'm being pedantic.
I love the Ava Gardner version of Show Boat and as Ken said she did record the songs which because of advertising had to be used on the cast album and are very good. She was majorly pissed off when the studio replaced them in the film and her relationship with Mayer and MGM was rocky from that point on.
So I'd say no to that but two that are listed could definitely be improved on.
Porgy and Bess despite the cast is shot in a terribly static fashion. Lots of room for improvement.
Guys and Dolls is a wonderful show on stage but I've never been able to endure more than a half hour of the film version despite my love for Jean Simmons. It's a mess.
I'm always up for a new version of Gypsy...if there is a masterful performer cast as Mama Rose. If not why bother. Relieved that the Streisand version appears dead in the water. She would have been phenomenal 20 or 30 years ago but she's far too old to be believable as the mother of young children and without that the whole thing falls apart.
Unless they make it into a movie, I'll never get to see 'Book of Mormon '.
Porgy & Bess could do with a movie version that's not made in spite (Preminger apparently filmed with as little coverage as possible to prevent studio interference in the post process).
Also, it's one of my favorite movie musicals, but having also read the novel, I'd love to see a remake of Flower Drum Song that retained C.Y. Lee's original focus on the father's unchanging ways and Ta's feelings of displacement. And of course, an actual Asian woman playing Madam Liang, wonderful as Juanita Hall is. And no Sammy Fong.
And yes, count me among the many who dream of a Follies adaptation....
We need more Sondheim musicals on screen.
I think Follies would probably lose money. As amazing as it would be for musical theater fans like me, I suspect it's too niche for audiences.
Company seems like a safer bet -- it's relatable for audiences, is still complicated enough that it would appeal to critics, and it doesn't require expensive production value.
Also, I love Sondheim and I love Streep, but the idea of Streep in either of the musicals above is atrocious.
(GAH! Can't believe I forgot Sunday in the Park with George. Get Jake Gyllenhaal back to do it and have Cary Fukunaga -- who directed a wonderful promo for the show -- direct the film.)
Oh, and thinking of a newer musical that deserves a film adaptation: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder would be fun to see on screen. It's a hoot and the show, which features one actor playing eight different family members, would probably be improved by the audience seeing the actor playing the D'Ysquith family so closely.
Porgy and Bess needs a good movie. And Audra has to be in it.
Not on the list. But would love to see some of Sondheim musicals as movies. Company and Follies are so obvious choices for a big screen adaptions, why are they not in production like right now? But keep Rob Marshall away.
While Porgy and Bess lives in that strange middle ground where it is claimed by both sides as both a musical AND an opera, it seems remiss to ignore some of the operatic filmings.
The live recording of the 2009 San Francisco Opera production starring Eric Owens is FANTASTIC.
But the 1989 studio recording of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera's production, starring Sir Willard White as Porgy and directed by Trevor Nunn, is as close to definitive as we're likely to get. If only it had been filmed for cinematic release, not TV broadcast...
"Kiss of the Spider Woman"could be great film-after all it's about the power of movies to help us escape reality.
Guys & Dolls needs.a fresh version with amped up comedy
I’d love an animated version of Avenue Q
Dear Evan Hansen with the obvious casting
Definitely agree on Showboat. There's a way to render a truly classic version of this story.
Annie would be a show that I believe deserves another shot at film adaptation. The recent iteration was a complete misfire. But the original songs are gorgeous and their power and charm could translate in the right hands.
Does "Brigadoon" need a remake? And I agree with Rosa Moline that "Book of Mormon" would be a hoot, if it can be effectively translated to cinema.
Can you IMAGINE the cast for Follies? You know, if Rob Marshall doesn't direct it.
After seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in the recent Sunday in the Park with George revival, I am DYING for a film adaptation with him as George(s). There are a number of talented women who could play Dot/Marie, but I would love to see Amy Adams return to musicals post-Enchanted (and maybe finally get that elusive Oscar). Barry Jenkins (or another director with similarly strong grasp of color) would be ideal.