The best and worst musicals based off of a movie.

I know everyone is going to say Legally Blonde is one of the worst, but I actually enjoyed the musical a lot more than the movie for whatever that's worth. For me, the musical was more entertaining than the movie.

For the best I'd have to say Dirty Rotten Scoundrels or The Full Monty. Maybe Passion which I believe is also based on a movie, but I haven't seen the movie.

Worst is High Fidelity. Noooo question.

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"Sunset Boulevard" - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black & Christopher Hampton stayed close enough to the script (which is wonderful on it's own), but added in their own things. Also has one of my favourite scenes/songs of all time "As If We Never Said Goodbye." To boot: awesome set, "effects," music and always had a marvelous cast!

The best? Hairspray. Love it.

Wasn't Piazza adapted from a movie?

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Yeah, I think Piazza is only based on the novel. There's no mention of the movie in the production credits.

I would have to agree with A Little Night Music and Passion as being among the best. I watched Smiles of a Summer Night, and was surprised at how different the tones were. I consider ALNM to be a rather optimistic Sondheim musical, and found Smiles... to be a little depressing.

as for Sunset Boulevard: I'd like a do over. PERFECT movie that lends itself INCREDIBLY well to musical theatre. let's have another composer try their hand at it?

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How is High Fidelity on the worst list? Just because it flopped? The score is kick ass.

..I wouldn't call anything in Carrie "stunning." Some fine little numbers in there, but just because it flopped/has a cult following doesn't mean it's great!

"I don't think SUNSET BLVD. is a good adaptation, there are about three original melodies and Webber is not nearly as sophisticated a writer as Sondheim (who does this in a couple of his shows) to pull something like that off, similarly, Black and Hamptom took almost everything straight from the film (as in actual dialogue line by line) and Webber stuck some poor music to them and they called it recitative. Now, other movies have taken straight lines from the film and made it work, this team didn't. I will say that "With One Look," "The Perfect Year," and "As If We Never Said Goodbye" are good numbers but three songs does not a good musical or movie-to-musical adaptation make. "

...clearly extreme-Sondheim fans are still upset that Mr. Wilder picked Lloyd Webber (or rather allowed) to do it rather than Sondheim. Oh well, Lloyd Webber got the Tony (which irregardless is still a Tony Award for Best Musical - even if there was only one other nominee! Still counts!).

While Don Black + Christopher Hampton do not generally make a good musical team (DRACULA, the musical anyone?), they had clear intentions: Borrow from the script as much as possible because that's how most of those involved with it wanted it: Billy Wilder, Paramount, Lloyd Webber. It wasn't some sort of lazy thing or let's rip off the script thing -- it was done deliberately. It was Hampton's first musical and he's a playwright - clearly he was going to borrow a lot.

"as for Sunset Boulevard: I'd like a do over. PERFECT movie that lends itself INCREDIBLY well to musical theatre. let's have another composer try their hand at it?"
Let me guess? Sondheim. I for one think Lloyd Webber + Company did a fantastic job at it and told it the way it should have been - heavily a book-influenced musical. The styling of music is perfect, so...not sure what exactly you'd like to see on stage!?!?

It's not a matter of Sondheim or no Sondheim. I made the Sondheim reference simply because he does something similar to what Webber does in SUNSET BLVD, use musical motifs that appear at specific times throughout the show.
I also didn't say that Hamptom and Black were being lazy or anything to that effect, I'm just saying that neither Hamptom, Black or Webber have the sophisticated writing skills necessary to make their concept work. Webber's melodies are repetitive, and Hamptom and Black use of the film's script make the show seem as a straight adaptation from the movie without taking advantages of any of the ways in which theater could have added to the film. Only in the moments when the writers step away from this is when the show reaches its full potential (ie "With One Look" or "As If We Never Said Goodbye") but it's too little to call this a great musical adaptation.
The GREY GARDENS team did a fantastic job at taking lines from the movie and building whole numbers, scenes, and a whole act based on them! They did it brilliantly, the Black, Hamptom, Webber team did not.
I don't care if Wilder wanted it like this, if Paramount wanted it like this, if Webber wanted it like this, all I care about is that the musical based on one of the best movies Hollywood has given is is simply not at par.
And to say that Webber got a Tony for this doesn't mean anything as he had no competition and won by default. The category should have been eliminated that year.

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Updated On: 5/20/09 at 11:40 PM

"And to say that Webber got a Tony for this doesn't mean anything as he had no competition and won by default. The category should have been eliminated that year. "

Smokey Joe's..was also nominated that year and just about doubled the run of SUNSET, so it did .. have competition.


ray-andallthatjazz86 , I don't see how you don't think the concept they tried to do didn't work...They wanted to mimic the film as much as possible, and did so, borrowing from it freely and adapting that script into a musical form. They took advantage of one of (as you said) Hollywood's greatest films.

And I assumed you wanted a Sondheim version because you brought up that point. Seems like a lot of people want that one -- but based off of the works that I have enjoyed/listened to, I just don't think his "style" (which you have to agree him and Lloyd Webber are very different in their attacks of music - ESPECIALLY orchestrational wise) would fit in with Norma's side of the story.


...and personally, if the source-creator likes the work, I for one say that means a success.

Phily, correct me if I'm wrong, but that year SUNSET BLVD. was the only nominated show for Best Score as SMOKEY JOE'S was a revue and did not have an eligible score.
Perhaps their concept of transferring the film to the stage (much in the way that BEAUTY & THE BEAST, LITTLE MERMAID, and to an extent LEGALLY BLONDE did) worked in that they did exactly what they wanted to do, but I personally don't think this is the way the musical should have been approached. That's just how I feel about it.
I think Sondheim and Lapine's almost operatic treatment of Fosca in PASSION gives us a glimpse of what Sondheim could have done with SUNSET. Yet, my argument is not Sondheim good, Webber bad. In fact, Webber's EVITA is fantastic, which made him the perfect fit to write another larger-than-life operatic personality, I just don't think lighting stroke once on that one, just my personal opinion.

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