Broadway is lit up with lights! When it comes to bringing a new musical to the Great White Way, producers find inspiration in all sorts of places — including beloved movies.
“I mean, I’ll probably come back here, like, five more times before we actually come to Broadway, but it’s a real thing now,” Mean Girls ScribeTina Fey teased of the musical treatment of her ‘00s flick during a May 2017 appearance on Jimmy Fallon hosts The Tonight Show. “It’s so cool. It’s so fun because — you can sing — but I’ve been in stuff that’s like movie musicals, whatever, a little bit.”
She added: “The secret with movie musicals is you can secretly suck and be a star. But what if you want to perform on stage? These kids are so talented! We have the cast now. We’ve been rehearsing for about a month. There’s a bunch of baby Timberlakes. Everyone can do anything! They just sing so loud and they dance so hard.”
The Musical Mean Girls Starred from April 2018 to March 2020. Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Emily in Paris’ Ashley Park, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Grey Henson,Kyle Selig Kate Rockwell.
“The greatest thing about bringing this musical to life is that our creative team didn’t say, ‘Can you just recreate the iconic film performance?’ We could never hope to,” Henningsen, who played Lindsay Lohan’s role of Cady Heron on stage, exclusively told Us Weekly April 2018. “I could never deliver the performance that Lindsay did. … It has been really special being able to recreate these characters for a musical and in this current time period.”
She continued: “I know Lindsay Lohan wants to come see the show. I hope she does. I don’t want to know about it [if she’s in the audience] because I will get so nervous.”
The Musical Mean Girls — which is also set to be released as a filmed adaptation — is hardly the only movie that has served as inspiration for the Broadway stage. April 2016, Sara Bareilles’ version of Waitress debuted at New York’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Starring Jessie Mueller as the original Jenna, the “Brave” singer reinvigorated the Keri RussellFilm starring a female lead with a selection of Tony Award-nominated tunes.
“We want everyone in the world to come see the show. We’re so proud of it,” Bareilles — who eventually played the show’s titular role in both Broadway and West End runs — exclusively told Use February 2019, “I just think Waitress Comfort food. It’s got so much heart and it’s got so much humor. It’s just a really beautiful. I mean, I know I’m biased because I’m intimately involved, but I really believe in the story of resilience and strength and vulnerability and all of the themes that run in the show.”
Scroll down to view more Broadway musicals that have been adapted from movies. Legally Blonde To American Psycho:
