Top 5 Musicals We'd Love To See Adapted Into Movies

Alistair Brammer and Eva Noblezada in Miss Saigon on stage

In light of Wicked becoming a box office smash hit, it's fair to say that movie musicals are well and truly back! Now the highest-grossing movie musical adaptation of all time, Wicked: Part 1 is continuing to wow audiences across the world. This has got us wondering which musicals we'd love to see adapted for the silver screen.

Below are some of our top picks of musicals that we think would make great movie adaptations:

Miss Saigon

When compiling this list, it almost came as a shock that Miss Saigon wasn't already adapted into a movie. This classic Boublil and Schönberg musical tells the love story of Kim and American GI Chris in the middle of the Vietnam War. Based on Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Miss Saigon features songs such as 'Why God, Why?', 'I'd Give My Life For You', and 'The American Dream'. We can already picture the shots of the famous helicopter flying off into the distance.

A live recording of the 2016 production of Miss Saigon, starring Eva Noblezada, can currently be viewed is currently available, and the musical will be touring the UK next summer.

City of Angels

A musical that spends half its time set in the world of film noir would surely adapt well to the screen. Imagine the fun a director could have playing with the black-and-white, the real world, and what happens when those two start to mix. The musical already pastiches the silver screen, so we bet a split screen during 'What You Don't Know About Women' and the combining of real and imaginary in 'You're Nothing Without Me' would be a movie musical treat.

Young Frankenstein

Yes, we know that Young Frankenstein is already based on Mel Brooks' musical of the same name, but if Mean Girls can make a movie based on the musical based on the movie then we can too!

We're picturing The Rocky Horror Picture Show for this - a comedy horror musical that doesn't take itself too seriously, and parodies exactly what it is. Heck, let's even throw Tim Curry in some fishnets for good measure. There's a level of unseriousness that big movie musicals seem to be missing these days - think Angelica Huston's lighting in The Addams Family - that Young Frankenstein could bring back to the cinema. But we'll only allow it if Andrea Martin reprises her role as Frau Blucher...

Ragtime

Ragtime is a musical about accepting change. It tells the story of three separate communities all living in America at the turn of the 20th Century and focuses on the "over-arching themes of a changing, “exploding” America, a clash of races and cultures, the disparity of rich and poor." (Aherns, lyricist). The musical features fictional and historical characters, with a perfect score of ragtime music that'll tear your heart out. Perhaps we live in a different world now, but the themes of Ragtime feel more fitting than ever.

She Loves Me

Often described as a 'perfect chocolate box of a musical', She Loves Me is a comedy romance musical by Bock and Harnick. Rom Coms are already a movie hit, and with the potential for some stunning visuals, we're picturing The Grand Budapest Hotel, She Loves Me could very easily become a festive family favourite.

In fact, a film adaptation by MGM, starring Julie Andrews, was originally planned in the 60's but this was later cancelled. Andrews is welcome to make a cameo in any of our movies, although we do have our heart set on Hannah Waddingham as Ilona.

Movie Musical Adaptation - Honourable Mentions

With so many incredible musicals, it was hard to choose our top 5. But some musicals we think could make excellent adaptations in the right hands would be:

Company

With its non-linear structure, this concept musical has some of the MT repertoire's greatest songs, but we all saw how well Tom Hooper's Cats did, so we'd need someone who could take this tricky Sondheim spectacle and do it true justice.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening is one of the 21st Century's best musicals, but its hard-hitting subject matter might not translate so well to the mass audience. We'd love to see two up-and-coming movie stars take on Melchior and Wendla (Chalamet and Cameron?) but wonder whether the themes of this beautifully crafted show remain better suited to the stage.

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

A rogue choice, we agree. This musical relies a lot on its audience, and the actors' ability to improvise around them, which is what made it miss out on a spot in the top 3. But with its witty script and catchy songs, this is the only musical that we know of where adults can play believable children. Can someone get Ben Platt on the phone?