What Musical Needs to Be Made into a Movie?

There’s a part of me that refuses to see the movie of Jersey Boys on account of its being a musical made for the stage. That can be said of most if not all musicals, really; but such “jukebox musicals” are mainly about giving audiences a live-concert experience of classic songs sung new by great talents of Broadway. On the big screen it’s an oddity to have a soundtrack full of covers when the original tunes, which are usually better, are available.

But then, I never saw the stage version of Jersey Boys, so the movie should be my best way of now seeing the song-filled story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It may have been initially intended for one medium, but the alternative is a lot more accessible, now and for the future. Just like any of our other favorite musicals that started out on the stage and have been, in a reformatted way, preserved through cinema.

As much as it seems like every musical has been turned into a movie, there are a ton that haven’t actually been adapted. Some are as beloved as Cats, Miss Saigon and more recently, The Book of Mormon. That one in particular is something I can’t wait for. I feel like everyone I know has seen it, but unfortunately I never got around to it. One of my biggest regrets now that I don’t live in New York City is that I didn’t see enough live theater. And while there’s always the touring productions, they come and go so quickly and it’s not always eays to make plans to go during those windows.

Another musical I should have seen on or off Broadway but would settle for a movie version is Avenue Q. I can only hope it’d make up for my dissatisfaction with the recent real Muppets movies, too. There are also a few musicals based on movies that would be neat to see returned to the big screen, such as the currently runnning Heathers: The Musical or the Tony-winning Kinky Boots or a smalltime take on The Goonies I saw a friend in a few years ago. But I think the trend of looping these properties back around through Hollywood ended with Nine.

Still, they can’t stop until I get to see a movie based on one of the musicals based on a documentary, whether Grey Gardens or Hands on a Hard Body or Southern Comfort. Also, I don’t know how it’ll work, but the one musical I really should have seen already is The Lion King and so that should just be put in front of a camera for me to watch more conveniently.

Which musicals need to be made into movies?

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