BWW Blog: My Broadway Wishlist - Movies I Would Love To See Onstage

From Mean Girls to SpongeBob the Musical, we have seen so many amazing movies and TV shows adapted for the stage. Adaptations are a huge part of Broadway's success because they expose fans of the original content to a New Medium: live theatre.

The Corpse Bride:

The Corpse Bride is my favorite movie of all time, and there are three main reasons why I know it would be a spectacular Broadway Musical: 1) The movie is already a musical. More songs could be added to the soundtrack like a solo for Victor and a few more dance numbers for the land of the dead ensemble. 2) The muted colors of the living contrasted with the vibrant colors of the dead is just one aspect of what makes The Corpse Bride so unique. These two polar opposite worlds would be a dream to work on for a scenic designer. 3) The costuming and makeup for each character would be INSANE. I can already picture the blue body paint and skeleton makeup for the dead characters and the range of time period costumes each character would wear. Overall, The Corpse Bride would make the perfect musical. If someone reading this happens to be a broadway producer working with a team to make The Corpse Bride the musical already, please email me. I have lots of ideas!

The Shape of Water:

The Shape of Water tells the story of a mute woman working as a cleaning lady in a government laboratory who falls in love with a scaly creature. The costuming and FX makeup for the scaly Amphibian Man would win a tony for sure.

I hope everyone has heard of the Spring Awakening Deaf West production that put deaf and hearing actors on stage at the same time. Deaf actors played the leading roles using sign language while the hearing actors voiced their expressions. If The Shape of Water was turned into a musical, it would be the perfect opportunity to do another production like this again!

The Princess Bride:

The Princess Bride is a classic movie jam-packed with romance, wit, comedy, action, and friendship (if you haven't seen it, watch it ASAP). The fact that this hasn't been made into a musical yet blows my mind! There is something so funny and amazing about the thought that the ensemble could be riding prop-mechanical horses across the stage. Those small vignettes where the grandson and the grandfather discuss the book they are reading would make perfect downstage scenes between the action. This movie would work as a play or a musical, but I know everyone would love to hear a duet from Vizzini and Westley in the Battle of the Wits scene.

Hercules:

I know that the live-action Hercules movie is in the works and that The Public Theatre put on a short staged production of it recently, but I am waiting for the day when I can officially buy Broadway tickets. We have seen adaptations of The Lion King, Frozen, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, and The Little Mermaid. It is about time we get the musical we have all been waiting for. Jelani Alladin, Krysta Rodriguez, and Roger Bart could reprise their Public Theatre roles and bring us the best show of the year!

Clue:

A classic board game turned Broadway play. I have always wanted to watch an interactive Broadway show. With Clue the musical, I imagine it going two ways: 1) Turning the characters from the original board game into a story, with one anser to the murder every single time, or (my favorite option) 2) A show about the characters where the audience is able to help solve the murder along the way, with the script having multiple endings that can be reached depending on what the audience chooses. Maybe I am thinking too much about this or maybe it's difficult to write a play with multiple endings. However, I know Broadway creators and actors are always looking for a new challenge, and with a little bit of improv and impressive script writing, Clue the interactive play is possible!

Ratatouille:

If you are very active on TikTok, you would have seen in the past few weeks that Ratatouille the musical was made. "Remy! The Ratatouille! The rat of all my dreams!" Musical theatre singers and songwriters across the platform started writing music, singing, creating plot points, casting, designing playbills, and so much more for a musical that didn't exist. TikTok users created an entire musical in 3 weeks, all through short 60 second videos. I see a new addition to the musical every single day on my for you page. Honestly, I think it would be so cool to produce Ratatouille the musical using all the content made by TikTok creators. Ratatouille is objectively one of the best Disney movies of all time, and I 100% believe that it deserves a chance on a Broadway stage!

The Greatest Showman:

The Greatest Showman is HANDS DOWN one of my favorite movie musicals of all time. There are a few reasons why I know this would make a perfect musical (and I am sure you have a few reasons of your own): 1) There is already music in the movie that will bring fans to New York City ready to hear a new version of songs like "A Million Dreams" and "This Is Me." 2) I always think about the technical theatre aspects of shows, and I know that the costume, makeup, and hair design for every single character would be out of this world. 3) The widespread popularity of this show in theatres (making 435 million dollars in the box office, tells me that it would be just as popular in New York City. 4) REWRITE THE STARS!!! ONSTAGE!!! LIVE!!!!!

Monsters Inc:

Monsters Inc goes right next to Ratatouille as being one of the best Disney movies of all time. My childhood was spent rewatching this movie just to see Sulley and Mike save the day! If this was actually going to be made into a musical, I imagine it being somewhat like SpongeBob the Musical. The costumes wouldn't be giant, puffy, colorful recreations of the characters. The actors would wear costumes that resemble the characters they play, but more human-like. Not only will this show bring in an audience of teenage Monsters Inc. fans whose childhood was filled with love for that movie, but a new group of parents who are ready to bring their children to a Broadway show they know will entertain them.

The Godfather:

Hear me out. I know that The Godfather is not everyone's cup of tea, and that's exactly why I think it would make the perfect musical. Turning such an iconic movie into a musical not only allows for a change of pace, but introduces one of the most iconic stories in movie history to a new audience that would not have watched it otherwise.

Other Movies That Are On My Broadway Wishlist:

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The Breakfast Club

The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Goodwill Hunting

Edward Scissorhands

Airplane!

Inside Out