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| Aileen Quinn and Ann Reinking Annie (1982) |
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| Anika Noni Rose, Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson Dreamgirls (2006) |
Another great example of when changes benefited the stage to screen transition is Chicago directed by Rob Marshall (With a screenplay by Bill Condon. Remember him?) At the 2003 Academy Awards Chicago became the first movie musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1978. There were no new songs added to the score (Except for an end credit song titled "I Move On" sung by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger), but many songs were removed. The songs that remained were all presented as cutaway scenes performed on a vaudeville stage which allowed Marshall to create lavish musical numbers while keeping the dialogue or "real life" scenes dark and gritty. To be quite honest I have never really been a fan of Chicago, the musical. I don't see the charm or flair that seems to capture other people. However, when I
watched the movie, I got it, I thought "Oh, now I see what people are talking about." The decision to have the numbers act as cutaway scenes is brilliant. It serves three purposes on the story telling front. The first purpose is it allows the singing to make sense (to a non theatre audience) because the numbers are dream sequences that happen in Roxie's mind. The second purpose is it allows Marshall to have these huge musical numbers that include "Cell Block Tango" and "We Both Reached For The Gun" and "Razzle Dazzle." The third purpose is that it allowed Marshall to pay homage to both Bob Fosse's original production (both his direction and choreography) and Walter Bobbie's stripped-down revival. The film features fantastic performances by the previously mentioned Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly and Zellweger as Roxie Hart. The movie also featured the fantastic Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton and John C. Reilly as Amos Heart. (I do want to mention that Zeta-Jones won the Oscar for her role and Zellweger, Latifah and Reilly were all nominated.) To be quite frank, it is my honest opinion that the film adaptation of Chicago is superior to the stage production it is based on. It is the perfect example of how some movie musical adaptations can not only benefit, but also improve the source material.
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| Renée Zellweger Chicago (2002) |
However, not every movie musical adaptation can be a hit. For every Dreamgirls and Chicago there is a Cats. I'm gonna try and not harp on Cats too much because at this point it's like beating a dead horse cat. The problem with Cats is that it should never have been considered for a big screen adaptation because it simply cannot work on screen. In complete honesty (and I say this with all the love in my heart) Cats is a weird show it is a very acquired taste and while I love this show, (I will repeat) it should NEVER have been considered for a
big screen adaptation. It is a show that is enrooted in theatrics that you just simply cannot translate to screen (Wicked is a similar story, but that's another story for another time.) The main problem with Cats was that it honestly felt like nobody knew what they were doing or what was going on. There were so many conflicting press releases about how the actors (and I use that term very loosely for some of the cast) were going to be turned into felines. The other problems were the script, cast, choreography and pretty much everything. I feel really bad for the VFX animators who worked grueling hours to get the film finished. (They were working up to a few hours before the world premiere.) The animators did their best work for a terrible film and to have some of the cast then insult their work is truly horrible. (I'm looking at you James Corden and Rebel Wilson who frankly are not ones to talk considering your absolutely terrible performances in the film.) Even with this horrid film I still love and look forward to more movie musical adaptations.
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| Idris Elba Cats (2019) |
I want to go back to the dictionary definition of "adaptation" which means "to make fit [as for a new use] often by modification." I am tired of hearing people say, "They should have cast the OBC" or "They should only cast stage actors for movie musicals" because those are two mindsets that I hate. I'm going to give two different examples of when casting a film actor was a better choice than casting a stage actor. The first one is Marilyn Monroe who starred in the 1953 adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as Lorelei Lee. Monroe delivered one of her greatest performances in this film and her take on the role of Lorelei was vastly different from Carol Channing who originated the role on stage. The incomparable Miss Channing is an over
the top, campy woman whose Lorelei would have come off as obnoxious on screen. However, Monroe's taut, bubbly and sensuous portrayal is a match made in heaven for the screen, especially when you add in Jane Russell's sharp witted and down-to-earth portrayal of Dorothy Shaw. If Miss Channing had reprised her role the film, in my opinion, would be nowhere near as successful and "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" would not be the iconic number it is today. Channing was also fine with Monroe taking on her part (Streisand starring in the Hello, Dolly! movie is another story...) In a similar situation was with the 2007 film adaptation of Hairspray where John Travolta played cooped up housewife Edna Turnblad, a role originated by Harvey Fierstein on stage (which he won a Tony for.) Many people, including Fierstein, were upset that he was not cast in the role of Edna, but I am glad Fierstein wasn't. He's a wonderful man and fantastic Edna, but his Edna would not have fit with Adam Shankman's (who directed and choreographed Hairspray) vision for the film. The screenplay by Leslie Dixon toned down a majority of the campiness (I think this was an extremely wise move, but that is an entirely different topic for another post) which included taking out all of the 4th wall breaking jokes, several of which were jokes about Edna being played by a man. Therefore, Fierstein's signature deep, gravelly voice would be out of place in the movie. This is another instance where had the stage actor reprised their role on film the movie would have suffered because
of it. Another thing I want to mention is that having different/new actors take on these roles allow for new interpretations of characters we know and love. Is every movie musical cast perfectly? Absolutely not, but not every stage musical is either. I always like seeing fresh blood in roles because it means that it will be a new interpretation and sometimes, they're fantastic (Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and other times they're absolutely terrible (James Corden in literally every movie musical). I am not a big fan of stage actors reprising their roles in films because I like fresh blood. *SIDEBAR* There are a few exceptions to this statement such as Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl because there was no one alive (at that time) who could do what Barbra did with the role of Fanny Brice. There is also The Producers where a majority of the original cast reprised their roles, along with the director. Which just works because it was the original cast, specifically Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Gary Beach and Roger Bart who made that show the megahit that it was. *END SIDEBAR*
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| Marilyn Monroe Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) |
the top, campy woman whose Lorelei would have come off as obnoxious on screen. However, Monroe's taut, bubbly and sensuous portrayal is a match made in heaven for the screen, especially when you add in Jane Russell's sharp witted and down-to-earth portrayal of Dorothy Shaw. If Miss Channing had reprised her role the film, in my opinion, would be nowhere near as successful and "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" would not be the iconic number it is today. Channing was also fine with Monroe taking on her part (Streisand starring in the Hello, Dolly! movie is another story...) In a similar situation was with the 2007 film adaptation of Hairspray where John Travolta played cooped up housewife Edna Turnblad, a role originated by Harvey Fierstein on stage (which he won a Tony for.) Many people, including Fierstein, were upset that he was not cast in the role of Edna, but I am glad Fierstein wasn't. He's a wonderful man and fantastic Edna, but his Edna would not have fit with Adam Shankman's (who directed and choreographed Hairspray) vision for the film. The screenplay by Leslie Dixon toned down a majority of the campiness (I think this was an extremely wise move, but that is an entirely different topic for another post) which included taking out all of the 4th wall breaking jokes, several of which were jokes about Edna being played by a man. Therefore, Fierstein's signature deep, gravelly voice would be out of place in the movie. This is another instance where had the stage actor reprised their role on film the movie would have suffered because
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| John Travolta Hairspray (2007) |
As I said earlier, there will always be blunders, completely disastrous attempts or some that have pros and cons about them such as The Phantom of the Opera. The 2004 movie adaptation of Andrew Llyod Webber’s hit long running show was a highly anticipated film and many were left disappointed. The film was visually stunning with elaborate sets and beautiful costumes by Anthony Pratt, John Fenner, Paul Kirby, Celia Bobak and Alexandra Byrne and
featured stunning performances by Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé (Even though I am a bit conflicted on her singing), Minnie Driver as opera diva Carlotta Giudicelli (whose singing was dubbed by Margaret Preece) and Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. However, the film suffered from Joel Schumacher’s horrendous direction and Gerard Butler’s vocally weak Phantom. Another example of this is when the revolutionary hit musical The Wiz was adapted into a major motion picture in 1978. The Motown produced movie was (for the most part) visually stunning with designs by Tony Walton, Philip Rosenberg, Robert Drumheller, Edward Stewart and Justin Scoppa Jr. The film also featured fantastic performances from Michael Jackson, Thelma Carpenter and Mabel King as Scarecrow, Miss One the Good Witch of the North and Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West. The film suffered though from Joel Schumacher's (Oh... Joel...) incredibly odd screenplay and Diana Ross who delivered a weak and rather annoying Dorothy.
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| Diana Ross and Michael Jackson The Wiz (1978) |
The point I am trying to make is that movie musical adaptations are just that, ADAPTATIONS. They are not meant to be carbon copies of the stage show. I am not saying you can't disagree with the changes made or the people cast (I do that all the time), all I am saying is that you look at why these changes were made. Film is a completely different medium from stage, and you can't just pick the stage show up and put it on a soundstage and expect it to all work out because it simply won't. Just like the theatre there will always be works of art, mediocre pieces and downright disasters. However, even when a movie musical has blunders and mistakes, I am still glad it was made because it is nice to see a fresh take on these wonderful stories, and it brings theatre to a wider audience.
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