Reel Talk: Adapting Screen to Stage

Before Hamilton became a national phenomenon, Broadway fantatics were noting the surge of movie-based musicals. Much like movie fans consistently complaint about a lack of originality, Broadway fans voiced a concern that producers and developers were simply looking to cash-in with non-Broadway audiences with hastily put-together shows based on popular movies. I can see both sides to the argument. On one hand your show isn't going to have a lot of tension if your audience knows every line of the film by heart. But on the other, some films almost work better as musicals. How? Well today we're going to break down the elements that make or break a movie to musical adaptation.

Step #1: Choose Your Source Material

This is where ninety percent of movie to musical adaptations will lose their potential audience. Some films simply shouldn't be adapted because the production values are nightmarish/impossible to recreate, the material is not musical ready (aka no one wants to see a depressing musical), or the idea sounds silly. No matter how hard you try, Rocky the musical will not get butts in seats.

So what material does work? Well, it tends to be in one of three categories.

Pre-Existing Musical Films

These are the most obvious films to adapt. They have most of their music written before you even start, and audiences already know the material. Disney has made a killing doing precisely this with shows like The Lion King and currently Aladdin. Hell you can even adapt a movie with a iconic soundtrack and rearrange it to fit the plot (aka Footloose). Admittedly you'll need to think up some changes and work really hard on original staging (more on this later). But the bones of your show already exist.

Silly Comedies

Farcical comedies, aka non-stop almost never serious jokefests, are some of the best movies to adapt into a musical from a tonal standpoint. Everything is light-hearted and scenes are played for laughs so adding upbeat songs fits snugly within the narrative. An underrated element however, is how a lot of these films are prone to montage or physical comedy set pieces that are perfect places for songs. 

The scene of Steve Martin falsely claiming that he cannot walk and then using the power of love to take his first steps is a fall on the floor exercise in physical comedy from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels that is perfectly captured by the song "Love is My Legs" in the musical. Likewise, a montage with heavy undercurrents of sexual tensions when Adam Sandler's character assists Drew Barymore with wedding planning is turned into a song called "Not That Kind of Thing" for The Wedding Singer stage show. 

These movies are already larger than life representations of their premises so adapting them for the Broadway's big stage works nicely.

Small Indie Dramedies

This might be my favorite route to take. You have a film with an appealing hook. You take its small setting and staging and blow it up into a big time musical comedy. You still get the advantages of the plot being written for you, but because the source material is obscure the audience won't care if you take massive creative license.

Like the premise of Kinky Boots, a small town shoe factory pairs with a drag queen to make specialized heels and save their jobs? Great. Take the indie film values and blow it out into a bright, colorful celebration of acceptance and fantastic footwear.

The best thing about these movies is that they have a unique hook that'll get butts in seats and the same beats as a farce with just enough drama to truly move the audience. Waitress opens as an unconventional romantic comedy but is utimately a story about female empowerment and mother's love. The Full Monty is centered around average joes stripping for money, but the is truly about a group of men uniting to push past their insecurities and provide in a new way after losing their blue collar jobs. There's an emotional honestly to the material that connects.

Step #2: Choose Your Changes...But Keep The Charm

Changing a movie into a stage show isn't always a natural transition. There are natural beats to a musical that don't exist in every film and depending on your material you'll either have to limit or expand your production quality. Based on your approach you also might have to change the material.

Pre-Existing Musicals: Made A Unique Stage Show

The Lion King is one of the best examples on how to do this right. The film is so grand and epic that trying to matching its visuals, especially with human actors, is a fool's errand. What they did instead was cast predominantly black actors and include some of the most intricate and difficult costume work you've ever seen. I've seen this show get applause breaks and "ooohs" and "aaahs." Not every show needs to be so distinct but if the crowd knows the story and music coming in, you need a new hook.

Silly Comedies: Find A Throughline

While Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of the funniest comedies you'll ever see there's no thematic throughline for any of the characters. It's a series of anarchic gags loosely based on King Arthur and that's it. Thus for Spamalot there are a number of new plot elements that are introduced. Arthur is given a romantic storyline with the Lady of the Lake, and gives them an honest to goodness female character, Lancelot comes out of the closet, etc. They are small changes but it also means the show doesn't end as abruptly as the film does and the audience feels all warm and fuzzy after their two hours of laughter.

Indie Dramedies: Lose the Subtely

Indie movies tend to be smaller both because they are a realistic approach to the medium and they have smaller budgets. This means that the jokes are less obvious, the drama is muted, and emotional moments are conveyed visually and through score. Dimly lit rooms where someone quietly weeps to themselves come to mind.

Obviously when you've got people in the balcony who can't see every small facial tick you can't afford that. This means brighter colors, physical and bombastic acting, and of course our next step songs for the most important moments.

Step #3: Write Your Songs

This primarily applies to the Silly Comedy and Small Indie Dramedie routes since, as we mentioned they already have a show's worth of music at their disposal. You might need to add a couple of songs, throw in a reprise or two, but the majorit of your material is there. If you're writing songs here's a couple of tried and true rules to follow.

Rule #1: Expand Characters

Because film is so intimate and the audience typically sees the reactions of the actors in exceptional detail, character introductions and expansions tend to be comparatively smaller than the stage. The thoughts and feelings of these characters is predominantly subtext, and never said aloud. But in musical adaptations you can go for broke and have what I've dubbed "character defining songs."

One of my favorite examples is "Who I'd Be" from Shrek. In the film we know that Shrek has been shit on his entire life and doesn't seem to have any ambitions. But in this song in the musical we see a different side. He's had fantastical dreams of heroism, but it's clear that life has beaten them out of him, and that his friends (Fiona and Donkey) empathize with his experience. 

You can also do this for side characters, a la "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs" from Hairspray which gives Velma a showcase and a detailed history to her lifelong pursuit of being awful or "History of Wrong Guys" expansion of Lauren's unrequited love in Kinky Boots.

It's a unique method for musicals, but it's one of the few dramatic genres where you can have a character turn to the audience and go "Here's my motivation, back story, and feelings!" so use it!

Rule #2 Emphasize Transitions

Be it an emotional turning point or major plot transition, the biggest moments in your musical should have a song to accompany it. Ideally these are also some of your catchiest tunes so the audience can really grove and remember it either between acts or after the fact.

If your lead is debating a consequencial decision, like Seymour debating whether or not to feed people to a hungry plant in Little Shop of Horrors, a song like "Feed Me" is perfect.

Maybe your group is coming together, a la Dewy Finn's classroom forming its band for the first time. Well let's roll out "You're in the Band."

Remember those montages we talked about? Time to write a song! Every big moment in your musical deserves an accompanying song.

Rule #3 Match the Moment

This is probably the hardest thing to do in any musical and not every songwriter can do it. Your dramatic songs need to hit like anvils, the celebratory songs should be full of life, and the funny songs should make us laugh because nailing those moments is crucial to the cohension of the show.

For musicals with songs but odd placing a la Footlose and Once, this about framing the songs in a place that makes sense. "The Girl Gets Around" doesn't fit as a song on the road, but framed as a song about male chauvinism and bragging, it works.

You should also have a style that matches the material. The Wedding Singer is pure fluff as a musical but the music matches the material's eighties vibe. You can't make a musical out of Kinky Boots that sounds like The Sound of Music.

One of the most recent trends, that I kinda like, is to get female pop musicians to write the songs. Frequently their own style is eccletic enough that they can nail these transitions and styles without straining their experience. Waitress' Sara Bareilles combo of piano pop/rock and ballads means she can shift from songs like "Opening Up" to "She Used to be Mine" with ease. Likewise, Cyndi Lauper a musician who wrote "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time After Time" for the same album can bring the disco funk of "The Sex is in the Heel" and slay ballads like "Hold Me In Your Heart."

Like everything else, the music should match the material.

The Key: Amplify What Makes the Movie Work and Make Your Show Engaging

While accusations of an unoriginal show are bound to come up, the key to a successful shift from screen to stage is simple. Keep the original's appeal and add in some hooks. And in some cases, the film will become an after thought...