Broadway Stage and Screen- A Spring 2024 Watch Guide
Did you know that you can watch film versions of 10 of this spring's shows?
By: Sidney Paterra Mar. 30, 2024
A new Broadway season has arrived at last, full of exciting new shows and revivals of beloved classics. While many of them are original concepts or based on plays, 10 are already films that you can watch from home today. If you are seeing any of the below productions in 2024, check out how you can study up beforehand or unpack afterwards!
Plus, check out which Broadway shows you can add to your reading list.
Stage: The Great Gatsby
Running on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre.
Transporting audiences to the lavish Roaring Twenties, the story follows eccentric and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, who will stop at nothing in the pursuit of the lost love of his youth, Daisy Buchanan. Through its fascinatingly nuanced characters, driven by complex inner lives erupting with extravagance and longing – this epic tale has always been destined to sing.
Screen: The Great Gatsby (2013)
The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars an ensemble cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan, and Elizabeth Debicki.
Stream it today on Netflix or Prime Video.
Stage: The Outsiders
Running on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, the hardened hearts and aching souls of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their chosen family of ‘outsiders’ are in a fight for survival and a quest for purpose in a world that may never accept them. A story of the bonds that brothers share and the hopes we all hold on to, this gripping new musical reinvigorates the timeless tale of ‘haves and have nots’, of protecting what’s yours and fighting for what could be.
Screen: The Outsiders (1983)
The beloved coming-of-age film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, stars C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane.
Stream it today on Paramount+.
Stage: The Notebook
Running on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart.
Screen: The Notebook (2004)
The cult-favorite film is directed by Nick Cassavetes, and stars Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly, Sam Shepard, and Joan Allen.
Stream it today on Hulu and Max.
Stage: Cabaret
Running on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre.
In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club. Home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself.
Screen: Cabaret (1972)
Directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, the film adaptation of the classic musical stars Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Marisa Berenson, and Joel Grey. It won eight Academy Awards in 1972, including Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.
Stream it today on Max.
Stage: Water for Elephants
Running on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre.
After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.
Screen: Water for Elephants (2011)
Directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, the film stars Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, and Hal Holbrook.
Stream it today on Prime Video.
Stage: The Wiz
Running on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre.
Based on L. Frank Baum's children's book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", The Wiz is the stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
Screen: The Wiz (1978) and The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film reimagines the classic 1900 children's novel with an African-American cast, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson (in his film debut), Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Theresa Merritt, Thelma Carpenter, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor.
Stream in today on Prime Video and watch The Wizard of Oz on Max.
Stage: Days of Wine and Roses
Running on Broadway at Studio 54.
Adapted from the 1962 film and original 1958 teleplay, Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James star in a searing new musical about a couple falling in love in 1950s New York and struggling against themselves to build their family.
Screen: Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Directed by Blake Edwards, the romantic drama stars Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman.
Stream it today on Prime Video.
Stage: Doubt
Running on Broadway at the Todd Haimes Theatre.
Sister Aloysius, the prickly principal of an all-boys Catholic school in a working- class part of the Bronx, is feared by students and colleagues alike. But when she suspects nefarious relations between the charismatic priest Father Flynn and a student, she’s forced to wrestle with what’s fact, what’s fiction, and how much she’ll risk to expose the difference—all the while wrestling with her own bone-deep doubts.
Screen: Doubt (2008)
Written and directed by playwright John Patrick Shanley, the film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. It was nominated for five Acadamy Awards 2009.
Stream it today on Prime Video.
Stage: The Who's Tommy
Running on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre.
Myth and spectacle combine in The Who's exhilarating 1969 rock opera, TOMMY—including the unforgettable anthems “I'm Free,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Sensation” and “Pinball Wizard.” After witnessing his father shoot his rival, the young Tommy Walker is lost in the universe, endlessly and obsessively staring into the mirror. An innate knack for pinball catapults him from reticent adolescent to celebrity savior.
Screen: Tommy (1975)
The surrealist operetta fantasy is directed by Ken Russell and features a star-studded ensemble cast, including Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Jack Nicholson.
Stream it today on Prime Video.
Stage: Uncle Vanya
Running on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
Sonya and her uncle Vanya have devoted their lives to managing the family farm in isolation, but when her celebrated, ailing father and his charismatic wife move in, their lives are upended. In the heat of the summer, the wrong people fall in love, desires and resentments erupt, and the family is forced to reckon with the ghosts of their unlived lives.
Screen: Uncle Vanya (2020)
Though several film adaptations of the classic play have been made (1957, 1963, 1970, 1996), most are not currently available for streaming. A production starring Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Roger Allam, Anna Calder-Marshall, Rosalind Eleazar, Dearbhla Molloy, Peter Wight, Aimee Lou Wood was film onstage at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.
Stream it today on Prime Video.
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