Earlier this year, I wrote a whole piece about stage musicals that have previously been unsuccessfully adapted for film that deserve another shot. Naturally, I figured I do one dedicated to those that haven't been adapted...yet.
A couple months ago, someone posted in a Facebook asking members to name a Broadway show that has not been made into a feature film yet, but deserves to be if given the right direction. For my response, I came up with four answers where I also assigned a director for each of them. What I'm about to do is not only list them off here, but also dive deeper into my suggestions.
City of Angels
Book By Larry Gelbart
Music By Cy Coleman
Lyrics By David Zippel
A couple months ago, someone posted in a Facebook asking members to name a Broadway show that has not been made into a feature film yet, but deserves to be if given the right direction. For my response, I came up with four answers where I also assigned a director for each of them. What I'm about to do is not only list them off here, but also dive deeper into my suggestions.
City of Angels
Book By Larry Gelbart
Music By Cy Coleman
Lyrics By David Zippel
Set in the late 1940s, City of Angels follows two parallel storylines. In Hollywood, Stine, a successful bookish author of detective stories, is struggling to adapt his crime novel into a workable screenplay. In the world of the film he's envisioning, Stone, a hard boiled private eye, is fighting for survival in a city full of criminals and opportunists.
City of Angels originally opened on December 11th, 1989 at the Virginia (now August Wilson) Theatre on Broadway. It ended up winning 6 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and closed on January 19th, 1992 after 879 performances. Given how the story goes back and forth between the colorful world of Hollywood and the black & white world of a film noir, many feel this show would translate pretty well to the big screen. In fact, it was previously announced way back in 2009 that Barry Levinson, the Academy Award-winning director behind Rain Man, was set to helm a feature film adaptation. Larry Gelbart was on board to pen the screenplay (a few months prior to his death at age 81) with Marc Shaiman serving as music director. Yet 16 years later, that project sadly never materialized.
If we ever do get a film version of City of Angels, I actually have an idea of how it could work. Several movie musicals of the 21st century have employed clever tactics of using non-diegetic numbers in more fantasy settings such as Chicago, In the Heights, The Color Purple, and the soon-to-be released Kiss of the Spider Woman. Each of those mentioned were from the perspectives of the main characters. Since this show takes a critical look at Hollywood through the eyes of Stine, every single musical number, specifically those set in the movie he's writing, would all take place in his imagination. Like the stage version, all the scenes set in Hollywood would be presented in color in addition to a widescreen aspect ratio while everything else set in the world of the movie would be presented in black & white in addition to a 4:3 aspect ratio. None of the non-diegetic songs that take place in Hollywood would be used as Stine is adapting his novel into a movie musical. Thus, a film adaptation of City of Angels, as I'm envisioning, would establish two distinct worlds.
Who'd be my choice to direct? Rob Marshall; While I understand how his track record since Chicago has been inconsistent, he still has great instincts when it comes to crafting musicals for film. Plus, given how he was the first of several filmmakers to employee these aforementioned tactics of using non-diegetic songs in fantasy settings, it would make sense. If Marshall were to apply that to City of Angels, let's hope the back and forth between reality and the songs feels much more seamless than it did in his adaptation of Nine.
Miss Saigon
Book By Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg
Music By Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics By Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby, Jr.
City of Angels originally opened on December 11th, 1989 at the Virginia (now August Wilson) Theatre on Broadway. It ended up winning 6 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and closed on January 19th, 1992 after 879 performances. Given how the story goes back and forth between the colorful world of Hollywood and the black & white world of a film noir, many feel this show would translate pretty well to the big screen. In fact, it was previously announced way back in 2009 that Barry Levinson, the Academy Award-winning director behind Rain Man, was set to helm a feature film adaptation. Larry Gelbart was on board to pen the screenplay (a few months prior to his death at age 81) with Marc Shaiman serving as music director. Yet 16 years later, that project sadly never materialized.
If we ever do get a film version of City of Angels, I actually have an idea of how it could work. Several movie musicals of the 21st century have employed clever tactics of using non-diegetic numbers in more fantasy settings such as Chicago, In the Heights, The Color Purple, and the soon-to-be released Kiss of the Spider Woman. Each of those mentioned were from the perspectives of the main characters. Since this show takes a critical look at Hollywood through the eyes of Stine, every single musical number, specifically those set in the movie he's writing, would all take place in his imagination. Like the stage version, all the scenes set in Hollywood would be presented in color in addition to a widescreen aspect ratio while everything else set in the world of the movie would be presented in black & white in addition to a 4:3 aspect ratio. None of the non-diegetic songs that take place in Hollywood would be used as Stine is adapting his novel into a movie musical. Thus, a film adaptation of City of Angels, as I'm envisioning, would establish two distinct worlds.
Who'd be my choice to direct? Rob Marshall; While I understand how his track record since Chicago has been inconsistent, he still has great instincts when it comes to crafting musicals for film. Plus, given how he was the first of several filmmakers to employee these aforementioned tactics of using non-diegetic songs in fantasy settings, it would make sense. If Marshall were to apply that to City of Angels, let's hope the back and forth between reality and the songs feels much more seamless than it did in his adaptation of Nine.
Miss Saigon
Book By Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg
Music By Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics By Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby, Jr.
Based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera titled Madame Butterfly, the story begins in the dangerous days before the fall of the Saigon in 1975 during the Vietnam War. Kim, a 17-year-old peasant orphan, is hauled in by a French-Vietnamese hustler known as The Engineer at his bar and brothel. While working her first night as a prostitute, she meets and falls in love with an American G.I. named Christopher Scott. When the city falls, the lovers are forced apart, and must each find their own way, alone.
Miss Saigon originally opened on April 11th, 1991 at the Broadway Theatre on Broadway. It received 11 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical) and closed on January 28th, 2001 after 4,092 performances. A feature film adaptation was also previously announced to be in early development back in 2009 with the musical's original producer Cameron Mackintosh reportedly teaming up with legendary film producer Paula Wagner. Lee Daniels, the Oscar nominated director behind Precious, was even hoping to be at the helm. Mackintosh also hoped this would get off the ground following the commercial success of 2012 movie version of Boublil & Schönberg's Les Misérables, which he co-produced. The most recent update was in 2016 when Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Slumdog Millionaire, was reportedly in negotiations to direct. Yet nearly a decade later, it still hasn't materialized.
Given how much Miss Saigon has become too much of a controversial flashpoint in recent years, a film adaptation may not realistically happen in the foreseeable future. Luckily, a capture of the 2014 West End revival starring Eva Noblezada and Jon Jon Briones (who both went on to star in the show on Broadway in 2017) is currently available to stream on BroadwayHD. Although if we ever do get a Miss Saigon movie...
Who'd be my choice to direct? Jon M. Chu; With In the Heights and Wicked, he's quickly proven to be one of the very best movie musical directors working today. He really knows how to film big cinematic musical numbers and gets what makes them soar on screen. Miss Saigon would arguably need a visionary director with that skill set. Plus, I especially think it would be a smart move to have an Asian filmmaker at the helm of this musical in particular and hopefully approach it with more modern sensibilities.
Next to Normal
Music By Tom Kitt
Book & Lyrics By Brian Yorkey
Miss Saigon originally opened on April 11th, 1991 at the Broadway Theatre on Broadway. It received 11 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical) and closed on January 28th, 2001 after 4,092 performances. A feature film adaptation was also previously announced to be in early development back in 2009 with the musical's original producer Cameron Mackintosh reportedly teaming up with legendary film producer Paula Wagner. Lee Daniels, the Oscar nominated director behind Precious, was even hoping to be at the helm. Mackintosh also hoped this would get off the ground following the commercial success of 2012 movie version of Boublil & Schönberg's Les Misérables, which he co-produced. The most recent update was in 2016 when Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Slumdog Millionaire, was reportedly in negotiations to direct. Yet nearly a decade later, it still hasn't materialized.
Given how much Miss Saigon has become too much of a controversial flashpoint in recent years, a film adaptation may not realistically happen in the foreseeable future. Luckily, a capture of the 2014 West End revival starring Eva Noblezada and Jon Jon Briones (who both went on to star in the show on Broadway in 2017) is currently available to stream on BroadwayHD. Although if we ever do get a Miss Saigon movie...
Who'd be my choice to direct? Jon M. Chu; With In the Heights and Wicked, he's quickly proven to be one of the very best movie musical directors working today. He really knows how to film big cinematic musical numbers and gets what makes them soar on screen. Miss Saigon would arguably need a visionary director with that skill set. Plus, I especially think it would be a smart move to have an Asian filmmaker at the helm of this musical in particular and hopefully approach it with more modern sensibilities.
Next to Normal
Music By Tom Kitt
Book & Lyrics By Brian Yorkey
Next to Normal is an original musical that follows Diana Goodman, a mother who is struggling with her worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness and the attempts to alleviate it have on her family. The musical also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the underbelly of suburban life.
Next to Normal originally opened on April 15th, 2009 at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. It received 11 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical), won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and closed on January 16th, 2011 after 733 performances. When Tom Kitt was interviewed by Playbill on July 20th, 2020, a viewer* submitted in a question asking him "Were there ever any plans to adapt Next to Normal into a feature film? If not, is that something you'd be interested in doing one day?" (@5:36). His response was "There were some conversations, especially early on when we were still running. It didn't get to the place of ever generating a script. There were just meetings, conversations. Some really exciting people that both Brian (Yorkey) and I revere looked at it and some had interest. But it never materialized." He went on to add that at that point, there were no plans for a feature film. Although he did say that "I think that would be pretty thrilling if it happened. Of course, it would have to be the right version because I've always felt like in adapting a musical, it wants to become something different and wants to become a film. That means probably looking at it anew in terms of the script. We just want to make sure that we can find the version that works on film."
*that viewer happened to have been me.
I'll admit, when I first saw Next to Normal on tour with Alice Ripley, it was a lot for me to take in. Although since then, I really grew to appreciate it more through countless listens of the original cast recording and seeing a local production in my area. For a while, it’s been around the top of my wish list of stage musicals that should receive a feature film adaptation. If we never get one, I’ll at least be glad that PBS’ broadcast of the recent West End premiere starring Caissie Levy and Jamie Parker exists. However, if we ever do get one...
Who'd be my choice to direct? Lin-Manuel Miranda; For one, he happens to be friends with Tom Kitt in real-life. The two of them even worked together on a few projects. So I'm sure Kitt would gladly trust Miranda with it. Plus, he showed a lot of promise as a great movie musical director with his 2021 feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick,...BOOM! (which Kitt happened to have made a brief cameo in). In conversation with Rosie Perez at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, Miranda revealed that "I really hope to make more movies. I want to direct funky little musicals that no one else would make as a movie." If and when he's ready to make his follow-up to Tick, Tick,...BOOM!, I think Next to Normal would be a good fit for him.
Ragtime
Book By Terrence McNally
Music By Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics By Lynn Ahrens
Next to Normal originally opened on April 15th, 2009 at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. It received 11 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical), won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and closed on January 16th, 2011 after 733 performances. When Tom Kitt was interviewed by Playbill on July 20th, 2020, a viewer* submitted in a question asking him "Were there ever any plans to adapt Next to Normal into a feature film? If not, is that something you'd be interested in doing one day?" (@5:36). His response was "There were some conversations, especially early on when we were still running. It didn't get to the place of ever generating a script. There were just meetings, conversations. Some really exciting people that both Brian (Yorkey) and I revere looked at it and some had interest. But it never materialized." He went on to add that at that point, there were no plans for a feature film. Although he did say that "I think that would be pretty thrilling if it happened. Of course, it would have to be the right version because I've always felt like in adapting a musical, it wants to become something different and wants to become a film. That means probably looking at it anew in terms of the script. We just want to make sure that we can find the version that works on film."
*that viewer happened to have been me.
I'll admit, when I first saw Next to Normal on tour with Alice Ripley, it was a lot for me to take in. Although since then, I really grew to appreciate it more through countless listens of the original cast recording and seeing a local production in my area. For a while, it’s been around the top of my wish list of stage musicals that should receive a feature film adaptation. If we never get one, I’ll at least be glad that PBS’ broadcast of the recent West End premiere starring Caissie Levy and Jamie Parker exists. However, if we ever do get one...
Who'd be my choice to direct? Lin-Manuel Miranda; For one, he happens to be friends with Tom Kitt in real-life. The two of them even worked together on a few projects. So I'm sure Kitt would gladly trust Miranda with it. Plus, he showed a lot of promise as a great movie musical director with his 2021 feature directorial debut, Tick, Tick,...BOOM! (which Kitt happened to have made a brief cameo in). In conversation with Rosie Perez at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, Miranda revealed that "I really hope to make more movies. I want to direct funky little musicals that no one else would make as a movie." If and when he's ready to make his follow-up to Tick, Tick,...BOOM!, I think Next to Normal would be a good fit for him.
Ragtime
Book By Terrence McNally
Music By Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics By Lynn Ahrens
Based on E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, Ragtime is set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York where three distinctly American stories are woven together – that of a stifled upper-class wife, a daring young Harlem musician, and a determined Jewish immigrant. Each of them are united by their courage, compassion, and belief in the promise of the future. Together, they confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope, despair, and what it means to live in America.
Ragtime originally opened on January 18th, 1998 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now Lyric Theatre) on Broadway. It received 13 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical) and closed on January 16th, 2000 after 834 performances. As far as I know, there's been no attempts of a film adaptation (yet). The only talk I've seen of one has only really existed in stage-to-screen transfer wish lists or fans just putting it out there. Although I remember reading somewhere that because Paramount still owns the film rights to Doctorow's novel from having released Miloš Forman's 1981 non-musical iteration, it'd be tricky to get an adaptation of the musical off the ground. Meanwhile, the 25th anniversary reunion concert in 2023 was actually captured, but still has yet to be released.
The first time I ever saw Ragtime was way back in August of 2008 when I ushered for a local production in my area. Immediately, I saw the musical's cinematic potential. I actually have an idea for how to approach the film. It would have this framing device where the little boy (Edgar) is decades later all grown up writing a book about his memories of the turn of the century while listening to ragtime music on an old phonograph. Thus, we get flashbacks to that time as he's writing it. Whenever narration lines are used, it would cut back to him writing them. A new Broadway revival presented by Lincoln Center Theater (which I actually have tickets to see in November) will be starting performances next month. If it's successful, maybe Paramount will spark interest in bringing the musical to the big screen. They could even partner with Apple or Netflix and position it as a prestige awards contender.
Who'd be my choice to direct? Blitz Bazawule; Again, someone who I felt showed a lot of promise as a great movie musical director with his 2023 adaptation of The Color Purple. I thought he did such imaginative things with the songs in that film. Plus, as Ragtime is a story that follows characters from different cultures, I do feel would be a good idea to have people like that represented as some of the key creatives behind the camera. Bazawule being black is one. Not to mention that I think Tony Kushner, a white Jew, would be a perfect choice to write the screenplay.
So which stage musical would you most like to see brought to the big screen? Do they happen to be any one of the four mentioned above?
Ragtime originally opened on January 18th, 1998 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now Lyric Theatre) on Broadway. It received 13 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical) and closed on January 16th, 2000 after 834 performances. As far as I know, there's been no attempts of a film adaptation (yet). The only talk I've seen of one has only really existed in stage-to-screen transfer wish lists or fans just putting it out there. Although I remember reading somewhere that because Paramount still owns the film rights to Doctorow's novel from having released Miloš Forman's 1981 non-musical iteration, it'd be tricky to get an adaptation of the musical off the ground. Meanwhile, the 25th anniversary reunion concert in 2023 was actually captured, but still has yet to be released.
The first time I ever saw Ragtime was way back in August of 2008 when I ushered for a local production in my area. Immediately, I saw the musical's cinematic potential. I actually have an idea for how to approach the film. It would have this framing device where the little boy (Edgar) is decades later all grown up writing a book about his memories of the turn of the century while listening to ragtime music on an old phonograph. Thus, we get flashbacks to that time as he's writing it. Whenever narration lines are used, it would cut back to him writing them. A new Broadway revival presented by Lincoln Center Theater (which I actually have tickets to see in November) will be starting performances next month. If it's successful, maybe Paramount will spark interest in bringing the musical to the big screen. They could even partner with Apple or Netflix and position it as a prestige awards contender.
Who'd be my choice to direct? Blitz Bazawule; Again, someone who I felt showed a lot of promise as a great movie musical director with his 2023 adaptation of The Color Purple. I thought he did such imaginative things with the songs in that film. Plus, as Ragtime is a story that follows characters from different cultures, I do feel would be a good idea to have people like that represented as some of the key creatives behind the camera. Bazawule being black is one. Not to mention that I think Tony Kushner, a white Jew, would be a perfect choice to write the screenplay.
So which stage musical would you most like to see brought to the big screen? Do they happen to be any one of the four mentioned above?