Best Musicals Turned Movies: The Shows Made Better on the Silver Screen

Musical theater is a truly unparalleled experience: fun, energetic, and often very moving. It is even more exciting because of its live format. With the all-or-nothing implications that a live performance brings, every high note or perfectly-executed bit of choreography feels exceptionally spectacular and exciting. Additionally, the audience’s collective viewership in the theater itself creates a sense of community that cannot be replicated elsewhere. However, the theater has limitations. Most notably, it requires the entire world of a story to be contained on a single stage. In musicals that span several locations or involve supernatural phenomena, the audience is required to use their imagination to fill in the blanks that are missing due to the restrictions of the stage.

While all sorts of musicals have been adapted to movies, some adaptations utilize the cinematic landscape more effectively than others to enrich storylines and narrative universes in ways that are impossible to achieve in live theater. Below are a few movie musicals that utilize the cinematic medium to enhance and improve upon the original productions that they are adapted from.

“Into the Woods” (2014)

From Prince Charming’s castle to Rapunzel’s tower, and everywhere in between, the forest in “Into the Woods” is an expansive and fantastical world that spans an area much larger than an average theater. Furthermore, with witches casting spells, beanstalks shooting into the air and, of course, giants in the sky, the story contains many magical elements that cannot be replicated in a real-world, live setting. By adapting this story to a movie, conveying these elements becomes possible. From CGI to the use of several different locations, the movie adaptation of “Into the Woods” expands the universe of its original stage production in a way that leaves much less to the imagination than live performances of the musical.

“In the Heights” (2021)

Unlike “Into the Woods,” “In the Heights” can truly be conveyed in a theater’s single-space environment. Because of this suitability, while its movie adaptation provides additions, they are more ornamental than vital. When Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) imagines speaking to a group of children on a beach in the Dominican Republic, the visuals transport the audience into his imagination through several scenes set on the beach. Furthermore, although not necessarily vital to the story, the film makes the song “96,000” even more spectacular than a live performance by setting it at a communal pool. Neither of these scenic design choices are necessary to the plot, but they both demonstrate ways in which cinematic possibilities enhance the story in a unique way.

“Chicago” (2002)

Set in 1920s Chicago, this musical follows two female entertainers who are obsessed with the spotlight. Because of the jazz age setting and theme of fame, the show involves a lot of glitz and glamor. However, these two women find themselves in jail for the murders of two men, which creates a disconnect between the women’s glamorous lifestyles and the circumstances they face over the course of the story. In stage productions of “Chicago,” creative teams must choose to tell the story through a stage that leaves much to the imagination or through prison-inspired set design. In the movie adaptation, however, they are able to use both scenic environments at once. In “Cell Block Tango,” for example, the film regularly flips between the women singing their stories in a manufactured, stage-like space and the realistic common spaces of the prison. In moments like these, the movie explores the duality of the characters’ personalities in contrast with their realities, while stage productions would be forced to choose one or the other.

“tick, tick… Boom!” (2021)

Whereas the other adaptations on this list simply produce pre-existing shows on screen, “tick, tick… Boom!” is more inventive. Instead of being an adaptation of the musical’s storyline, it is a film about the show’s creator, Jonathan Larson. The original musical is not used as an outline for the film but rather as a tool in its retelling. The film’s goal is not to preserve the musical but to reveal more about the artist who wrote it. With music from the original show interspersed throughout the events of the film, the film uses the musical to enrich Larson’s life story in a way that is truly imaginative.

“Mamma Mia!” (2008)

Finally, it would be remiss of me to create this list without including Phlliyda Lloyd’s “Mamma Mia!” Despite taking place on a singular island — making the show feasible to stage — the film adaptation provides an expanse of scenery that creates an immersive world only achievable using multiple locations. During “Dancing Queen,” Donna (Meryl Streep) skips around the island collecting other women in her wake. Seeing Donna’s performance of this song unfold across the entire island, the movement fully immerses the audience in the song’s energy, more than is possible when it is confined to a smaller, more static stage. These moments make the movie adaptation of “Mamma Mia!” a testament to the original stage production that inspired it.

Watching a live musical is an experience that cannot be found anywhere else. However, some musicals benefit significantly from a cinematic reimagining. Watch any of the above films to see various musicals, both the classic and the lesser-known, transformed and enriched through the power of the silver screen.