Since Broadway’s rise to prominence in 1866 with its first musical, its productions have gained widespread recognition, with many being adapted into films, such as “Wicked” and “Mean Girls,” while others, like “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” are remakes themselves, and “Hamilton” was recorded for streaming services.
As Broadway productions continue to grow into other industry spaces, their success in comparison with their original formats are questioned.
Commonly referred to as movie musicals, cinematic adaptations of Broadway shows, including “Wicked,” “In the Heights,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Misérables,” and “West Side Story,” have begun to earn a reputation for struggling to live up to the magic of their original stage productions.
“It may not do as well as a movie if you had seen the show first because you don’t get that same kind of human connection,” said longtime Broadway attendee Jen Robinson. “That’s what actors on stage specialize in; that connection to the audience in how they perform. It’s very much like a two-way energy exchange, versus when you’re watching a movie, you’re not really engaging, you’re just watching.”
However, not all movies transitioning from off the stage have performed poorly.
“It’s very interesting to look at which movies do well and which ones don’t because, most of the time, movie versions of Broadway musicals don’t do great,” said Andrew Cole, a past marketing director and press agent for touring Broadway shows.
Despite usually unsuccessful film adaptations, some outliers, like “Wicked,” the movie adaptation of the popular Broadway musical of the same name, have proven successful. That success becomes even more intriguing in consideration to the backstory of its director, Jon M. Chu.
An American filmmaker, Chu also directed the movie version of “In the Heights,” a Broadway show by Lin-Manuel Miranda that won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2008. However, when Chu brought “In the Heights” to theaters in 2021, it didn’t necessarily achieve similar accolades or fame.
“It didn’t make a lot of money and wasn’t considered a big hit because there wasn’t that big of a fan base that necessarily needed and wanted to see that as a movie,” Cole said.
Yet “Wicked” tells a very different story. Directed by Chu as well, it has become the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation in history in just eight days, on top of being the only adaptation to have passed $200 million domestically, according to Collider.
These two musicals — both adapted within a few years and both directed by the same filmmaker — demonstrate the powerful effect that a pre-established audience can have, influencing the box office in both the cinema and live entertainment industries.
Not all video productions of Broadway musicals have reached the movie theater. In June of 2016, “Hamilton” was recorded by the original cast and available on Disney+.
“I think of the recording of ‘Hamilton’ in the same way that I think of the recording of the ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ concert,” Cole said. “I think a lot of people were confused when she decided to put out the movie halfway through the tour, however, once you get to that level of popularity, you don’t have to worry that people who see the recorded version of the show won’t go to see the show live. It almost acts as a really big commercial.”
While not a complete movie remake, the recording still stands as further evidence of the film industry’s ongoing struggle to capture the unique experience of live theater.
“We actually saw ‘Hamilton’ on Disney+ before we went to see it on Broadway, and, even though we didn’t have the original cast, I still think the experience of watching it on stage was better than watching it on the TV,” Robinson said. “A lot of that is because you’re immersed in it and so you feel more like you’re part of what’s going on when you’re there live.”
From the screen to the stage
“It’s a very expensive thing to make and produce a Broadway show, so the ones that tend to run for the longest and be the most successful are either based on a story that is very well-known and everyone loves, or, for example, a movie that already has an existing fan base or a lot of built-in brand recognition,” Cole said. “Disney is very good at doing that, and they’ve been very successful on Broadway because they have a whole long library of movies and characters and stories that they’ve been turning into Broadway musicals for about 30 years now.”
This success is amplified by the fact that Disney also benefits from the nostalgia and familiarity their characters and stories evoke, creating another powerful way to build large, dedicated audiences.
Although not a remake of a movie but a book, “Wicked” is a really good example of a show that has a lot of nostalgia already attached to it, according to Cole.
Set in the fictional world of Oz, the classic story has been around for over a century, dating back to the original book, which was published nearly 125 years ago. But the connections to the story don’t stop there. There’s the beloved original Wizard of Oz film from the 1930s, as well as Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked” novel from the 1990s. By the time “Wicked” was adapted into a musical in 2003, there were already many layers of association and existing fandom that could potentially be interested in a musical like that, according to Cole.
However, not every musical on Broadway becomes a success story, and the lack of audience interest can cause productions to close before they even have the chance to gain momentum.
“There are so many shows that’ll only have been performing for six or seven weeks because they couldn’t find an audience quickly enough, and it wasn’t a broadly appealing enough property,” Cole said.
This scary reality raises the question of whether Broadway might benefit more from focusing solely on remakes, given their proven track record of being a safer bet.
“I think Broadway probably could continue to survive if no new stories were told, but it would lose a little bit of that magic and spark because you wouldn’t have the ability to really experience anything that’s brand new and no one’s seen before,” Cole said. “I think that some of the best Broadway shows and best live theater experiences tell stories and take people to places that they’ve never encountered.”
Robinson seconds this point, emphasizing the spontaneity and unpredictability of live performances.
“It’s kind of a special experience,” Robinson said. “No two performances are ever the same, so even if you saw the same stage play two nights in a row, there’s always a guarantee there’s gonna be something different, which I think is really exciting.”
Remakes: cinema vs. live theater
No matter the medium, remakes are still a staple in the entertainment industry, often allowing us to bridge the gap between classic stories and modern audiences.
“Remakes offer fresh interpretations and updated visuals, making old tales appealing to new audiences,” said sophomore Charlene Xu. “It’s interesting to see how filmmakers add modern themes or new character interactions while keeping the original spirit. They can give new life to stories we love and make them more relevant today.”
However, there is still the question of what medium generates the most success and interest in the world of remakes.
“I would say what’s appealing would probably be a little bit generational,” Robinson said. “If somebody has grown up around really enhanced technology in movies and things, they may have a different level of expectation.”
According to Screen Advertising World Association, the cinema audience demographics tend to be younger, from ages 14 to 34. Meanwhile, The Broadway League says the average Broadway theatergoer is 40.4 years old, although that’s the lowest it’s been in recent years.
“For example, I think ‘Mean Girls’ attracts a younger audience than a classic show like ‘My Fair Lady’ or ‘The Sound of Music,’” Cole said.
Nevertheless, while the two mediums differ in terms of cost, technology, and target audience, the goal remains the same: to captivate audiences by breathing new life into familiar stories.
“They’re both about storytelling; playing into people’s desires to see stories and things that they relate to in a narrative fashion, and there’s just such a high amount of creativity and wonder about it,” Cole said.
