Do movies help or hurts the musical?

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:06pm

I have a feeling maybe RENT's release will help the show, but in the past Phantom didnt get much a drawl from the movie, and not many people I have spoken to, remember Hairspray the movie back in 80's. Do you think a movie helps or hurts a musical?

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:07pm

All I know is that at the Nederlander last night, there were over 200 people trying for Lotto. Crowds haven't been that thick since 1997, so make of that what you will

[tz0o]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:09pm

It depends on alot of factors.

The Rent movie will help the musical and give it free publicity.

Since people only saw The Producers for Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, once the movie comes out, it will hurt the musical.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:11pm

I think it also depends a lot on timing.

The RENT crowds have been starting to thin, hopefully this film will draw another generation into the show and give tickets sales at the show a bit of a boost.

I think that the Producers will probably not be helped at all by the movie release as, as someone already said, many of the crowds were going to see Lane and Broderick.

Nobody saw the Phantom movie and that's why it didn't really have an effect, either positive or negative, on the stage show. That entire film was marketed so poorly....

I think the Chicago film, and the academy award especially, helped to invigorate the stage show.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:39pm

Generally, I think a movie version of a Broadway musical HELPS the stage show.

It can expose the material, even if it's been drastically adapted, to a much wider, worldwide audience. People who have never been to the theatre before might check out a movie musical at some point. Subsequently, they will have a recognition of it, when they see it playing "live" somewhere... whether it's New York or their local community theatre.

A few instances (The Wiz and A Chorus Line movies come to mind) have damaged the memory of the stage shows, but not until ACL closed its original run. Next year's revival of A Chorus Line should help that out a bit... until it closes. Then a whole new generation will have only the movie to fall back on, and we'll get a new crop saying "I don't get it," whenever A Chorus Line is mentioned as a landmark musical. And I hope we see a Broadway revival of The Wiz soon, so people can see how truly misguided and dreadful the film was. That show has definitely gotten a bad reaction, because of the movie.

HOWEVER, a theatrical musical adaptation of a theatrical straight play CAN HURT the straight play's future prospects of production.

Paul Osborn (Morning's At Seven and On Borrowed Time author) explained it to me once, a while back. If the musical adaptation is a blockbuster hit, the stage play is usually obscurred (look at "Hello, Dolly!" vs. "The Matchmaker"). If the musical version is a flop, it leaves a bitter taste in the public's mouth, and can take years before people remember that the original play was actually good.

Updated On: 11/13/05 at 12:39 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 1:07pm

"All I know is that at the Nederlander last night, there were over 200 people trying for Lotto. Crowds haven't been that thick since 1997, so make of that what you will"

I wouldn't read into it. All the lottos had a surge in attendance this weekend. Spelling Bee had at least 100 pople there last night. Even Hairspray, which usually only has about 15 -20, had over fifty people.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 1:17pm

Phantom did get a pretty big boost from the movie, it did over 90% capacity for a while.

[roquat]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 1:20pm

GYPSY's reputation was tarnished for years after the Rosalind Russell film abomination--ditto MAME after Lucy Vaselined it to death on screen. Generally, though, I think it is a help--even PHANTOM (the stage show) got a mini-burst of ticket sales before it became clear the movie was an obscenity. If nothing else, people like to compare and gossip about whether this version or that version was superior. (I'm sure we'll see a spike in movie rentals of the original "The Producers" in the next month.) And I'm certain every Renthead on earth, even if convinced the movie version is a bomb, will just HAVE to go and see it to make sure--and then it won't be a bomb!

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 8:36pm

I think movie buzz (whether good or bad) can actually help a Broadway musical while it's still running in New York. People want to compare the two, regardless.

It usually only HURTS the stage show after it has closed, and IF the film version was crappy. We only have the bad film to reference eventually. There's no way to compare the two, except with regional and non-professional productions. The movie version wins over the masses' perception of what the Broadway show was actually like.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 8:55pm

Chicago-the movie- was amazing! it definitly helped the show...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 9:14pm

I think any film version helps at first, because it gives more exposure to the stage production (Having ads for the film of RENT doubles as advertisement for the play). But there have been instances where the film hurt the stage musical -- ANNIE being one example that comes to mind - although ANNIE really evolved into a take-your-children-to-it kind of theatre experience (it wasn't that way when it opened) and parents probably thought it was a lot cheaper to just take the kids to the movie theatre.

Posted: 11/13/05 at 9:17pm

The Chicago movie definitely helped the theatre box office especially after winning best picture.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 10:59pm

Wasn't Phantom down in the 70s-80s range before the film, and then it spiked back to the 90s. I know it was starting to show at TKTS more and more, and now it's barely there (well, I don't know about NOW, but it only showed once or twice a week during the summer, and the seats were aweful)

[Aigoo]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 11:02pm

A) Depends how the movie itself is received by the general audience.

B) Depends on whether the general audience actually UNDERSTANDS that the movie is BASED off a musical (I know SEVERAL people who thought the movie Chicago was original material)

C) Depends on whether the show is still RUNNING in order for it to be helped/hurt.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 9:24am

I love the one about Lucy Vaselined "Mame", LOL! It is a truth!
They even had the gall to put out posters at the time with the title "LUCY MAME". Too bad too, "Mame" would make one helluva film (and CBS knows it - just wait!)
**Cher will do Mame & Bette will play Vera**