Movie Musicals with Original Broadway Casts

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:12pm

We know that *the movie that shall not be mentioned by name* features 6 of the original broadway cast members reprising their roles but it's not the first movie version of a show to do so.

The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying AND Li'l Abner are four that come to mind that retained some (if not most) of the original cast. Any others come to mind?

[Broadwayluva]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:14pm

well coming up, The Producers, there's at least 2 from there, although the 'Keep It Gay' guy looked familiar, but that's all that comes to mind for me.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:35pm

The Producers features four of the original cast members: Nathan Lane,Matthew Broderick, Gary Beach, and Roger Bart.
________________________________________________________________
"I can't help it, I like things clean"
-The Odd Couple

[jam_man]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:38pm

1776 had the enitre OBC except John Cullum playing Rutlidge(sp; in the movie) and Betty Buckley was left out as Martha Jefferson.

[enjolrasissex]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:48pm

Cabaret and Little Shop of Horrors all retained at least one original cast member (Joel Grey and Ellen Greene, respectively.)

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:56pm

Not a musical, but Streetcar Named Desire has most of it's original cast

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 5:37pm

Rocky Horror, Jesus Christ Superstar, Bells are Ringing, My Fair Lady, and Bye Bye Birdie all have some original cast members in them.

[jasobres]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 5:45pm

The Music Man, not the remake, had many of the OBC (Bob Preston, Pert Kelton, The Buffalo Bills, and Adnia Rice) and the touring cast (Harry Hickox, Susan Luckey and a few others).

[rose&lark]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 5:50pm

Darn it! Jam_man beat me to it with the 1776 mention. But I will say that it's fabulous that Howard Da Silva made it with the film, because if you look on the OBC recording, he isn't on there, because he passed away before it was made...

[Taryn]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 6:48pm

Howard Da Silva wasn't deceased at the time the OBC was recorded--he was ill. He died about twenty years later, in 1986 (as opposed to 1969 when the recording was made).

It's still an awful loss to the OBC, though. He's absolutely brilliant in the movie.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 7:11pm

Not a musical but:

Barefoot in the Park had 3 of it's original cast members.
Robert Redford, Mildred Natwick, and Herb Edelman.
Updated On: 12/2/05 at 07:11 PM

[Mimi Imfurst]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 9:09am

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH retained three of its original cast members and pulled two from the first official out-of-new york productions (boston and la) for the band. Although expanded to more actors/characters from its original incarnation it still stared the original productions' john cameron mitchell, stephen trask, and mariam shor.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 11:20am

The Odd Couple had Walther Matthau, John Fiedler, Monica Evans and Carol Shelley reprising their original roles.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 12:03pm

As far as 1776, they did use most of the original principle cast. A few smaller roles were recast. And of the main roles, Rutledge, Dickenson, Martha Jefferson and the Courier were not the originals, although Cullum had played Rutledge on Broadway prior to filming.

As far as Da Silva, he WAS the original Franklin on Broadway, but had a heart attack only one month (I believe) into the run. He was replaced by his standby Rex Everhart, who also sang the part of Franklin for the cast recording, until Da Silva was well enough to return to the show. Da Silva played the part in the film and lived until 1986, as previously stated. Rex Everhart can be heard as Belle's father in the Disney movie of "Beauty and the Beast" incidentally.

There are many films with originals in them:

Show Boat (1936) - featured two original cast members: Helen Morgan (Julie) and Charles Winninger (Capt. Andy). Irene Dunne had played Magnolia in the first national tour prior to doing the film. Paul Robeson played Joe in the 1932 Broadway revival (yes, only 3 years after its original run closed abruptly due to the stock market crash).

Show Boat (1929) - (A mostly silent film version of a musical! Go figure.) It has appearances in the prologue by the original Julie (Helen Morgan), Joe (Jules Bledsoe) and Ziegfeld himself.

Not a musical, but the film of "Our Town" (1940) had three original Broadway cast members: Martha Scott (Emily), Frank Craven (The Stage Manager) and Doro Merande (Mrs. Soames).

The musical "Best Foot Forward" had OBC members June Alyson and Nancy Walker, who were both then signed to MGM contracts.

"On the Town" had Alice Pearce from the OBC as Lucy Shmeeler.

"The Wiz" (ugh) had Mabel King (Evilene) and Ted Ross (the lion).

"How To Succeed" had Robert Morse (Finch), Rudy Vallee (Biggley) and Ruth Kobart (Miss Jones). Michelle Lee had played Rosemary on Broadway, but wasn't the original.

"Music Man" had a handful, as mentioned.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind.

The biggies (as far as musicals) are Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, where nearly all of the principl cast (save one) were in the film.

Updated On: 12/3/05 at 12:03 PM

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 12:11pm

The King and I had Yul

Chicago had a cameo from Chita...

My Fair Lady had Rex Harrison...

[adamized88]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 12:15pm

guys and dolls kept viviane blaine as adelaide

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 12:20pm

Forgot about Guys & Dolls (probably because I don't think it's a very good film version) -- In addition to Blaine, it also had Stubby Kaye (Nicely), Johnny Sliver (Benny) & B.S. Pully (Big Jule) from the OBC.

I wonder what the B.S. stood for?

Posted: 12/3/05 at 1:53pm

"Cabin in the Sky" (1943), Vincente Minnelli's first film directing credit, included two original Broadway cast members, Ethel Waters (Petunia Jackson) and Rex Ingram (Lucifer, Jr.) recreating the their original roles in the black and white musical film.

This Freed Production is one of my personal favorites for a number of reasons, and one of those is the sublime Ethel Waters.


Ms. Waters also starred in the film version of the Broadway hit, MEMBER OF THE WEDDING (1953), along with her Broadway co-stars Julie Harris, Brandon de Wilde, and William Hansen. It is always difficult to separate the performances by Waters, Harris, and de Wilde; they are all masterful and appear to be of one piece. A touching, memorable play about an adolescent maturing, that remains sheer brilliance because of the original Broadway cast perfomances captured on film.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 2:03pm

Not a "Broadway" musical per se, but the Showtime TV-movie of Reefer Madness kept 4 of its Off-Broadway cast members: Christian Campbell, John Kassir, Kristen Bell, Robert Torti.

My Fair Lady also had Stanley Holloway who had played Alfred P. Dolittle on Broadway as well.

[danstudney]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 10:35pm

That's true. We also found roles for Harry S. Murphy, who played Alan Cumming's role in the original L.A. production, and for Michael Goorjian, who was our original choreographer.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 11:40pm

The Wiz had Ted Ross and Mabel King -- two of the only aspects of the film that make any sense.

Funny Girl kept Streisand and Kay Medford.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 12/3/05 at 11:51pm

chita in chicago? what cameo did she make?

[iRuvPrinceton]

Posted: 12/4/05 at 2:00am

Didn't Godspell keep some of the original cast?

[fiatlux]

Posted: 12/4/05 at 7:33am

A Little Night Music - had Len Cariou, Hermoine Gingold and Larry Guittard

The Cocoanuts - with the Marx Brothers, also springs to mind

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 12/4/05 at 7:54am

The first ANYTHING GOES (1936) featured Merman, who performed "You're the Top" and "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" as well as an interpolated ditty by Frederick Hollander and Leo Robin called "Shanghai-De-Ho" that has to be seen to be believed.

SALLY (1929) and SUNNY (1930) both starred Marilyn Miller.

TOO MANY GIRLS (1940) featured Desi Arnaz, Eddie Bracken, Hal LeRoy, Libby Bennett and chorus boy Van Johnson from the original Broadway cast. Interestingly, the film was made and released within a few months of the closing of the Broadway show in May 1940.