Stefan Bednarczyk sings Noel Coward at Theatre at the Tabard

The Strange Crossovers Between Musicals and Gaming

Broadway and video games—they’re not exactly two industries that you would imagine go hand in hand. One is an extroverted world where characters burst into song and dance, while the other is focused on the digital experience and interactive storytelling.

If you look a little closer, though, you’ll soon find that these two forms of entertainment have a lot more in common than you might think.

Let’s explore the unexpected connections between musicals and gaming.

Immersive Storytelling

We don’t have to look too closely to see the first link between these two diverse entertainment sectors. Both the musicals of Broadway and the video games of Epic and Ubisift etc. heavily rely on storytelling. What makes them different is the distinct ways audiences are immersed into each type of world.

As a viewer watching a stage production, you no doubt find yourself transported via a combination of set design, lighting, music and live performances. In video games, immersion is as a result of player interactions with dynamic environments—it’s a much more proactive type of engagement. However, both mediums have inspired and influenced each other, in ways that you may not necessarily think.

A show like Sleep No More, while not strictly a musical theatre production, is clearly influenced by classic choose-your-own adventure style gameplay. These shows have fully gone down the interactive route, allowing audiences to explore the environment and multiple character arcs at their own pace.

On the flipside, a number of games borrow from the stage to further pull players into their stories. Award-winning titles like The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption feature multi-layered storylines with emotional depth and character arcs that rival those of Broadway shows.

Stagecraft and Video Game Design

Musical theatre and video games share a common goal: creating compelling worlds that audiences can’t help but get lost in. Set designers on Broadway work tirelessly to build elaborate scenes, much like game designers construct immersive environments for players. A show like The Lion King on Broadway, with its complex puppetry and intricate set pieces, mirrors the attention to detail found in open-world games like Elden Ring.

Moreover, musical theatre hasn’t just influenced the stylings of conventional video games, it’s even casting a spell across more niche sectors like iGaming. Platforms like Unibet online casino are home to hundreds of online slots games, some of which, such as The Phantom of the Opera slot, pay homage to iconic musical theatre productions. The ‘Phantom of the slot machine’? Now there’s a thought!

Crossover Talent

Performers, musicians and creatives aren’t just confined to a single medium, and some of the most talented have crossed over from Broadway to gaming and (and vice versa). Take Laura Bailey, for instance. While she’s best known for her voice acting in games like The Last of Us Part II and Gears of War, she honed her craft performing in live theatre.

Similarly, Broadway stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda have ventured into gaming soundtracks, lending their talents to projects that sit somewhere in the middle of the two mediums. Miranda, responsible for the MT phenomenon Hamilton, has also contributed music to video games.

Video Games that Could be Musicals

One way to really test out how strong a crossover between gaming and musical theatre is would be to turn the former into the latter. We can think of a number of iconic games that would make sell-out shows.

Final Fantasy VI is an epic blend of steampunk and opera (there’s an opera scene in the game) so it already has the stagecraft element going for it. Add in a deeply emotional plot and memorable characters, and you have all the makings of a musical. For something with even more spectacle, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has dragons, magic and political intrigue.