The Movie Musical: A Syllabus

How do you make a movie from a Broadway musical?

Our first series exclusively for our paid subscribers is...a course!

The discourse around movie musicals and their viability has recently been at the forefront of pop culture conversations. It's one of the rare film genres to find itself both at the top and bottom of public favor. From the dawn of talkies and the glamour of roadshows to the discarding of the form in New Hollywood, then the occasional commercial and critical resurgence to the scrutiny of modern-day audiences, you have to stop and ask...why?

Over the next ten weeks, your instructor

Patrick Regal

will chart the history of Broadway musicals turned Hollywood features (we'll be leaving out original musicals for the sake of this conversation) and how and why they find success. From Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim to Andrew Lloyd Webber to Kander & Ebb— they're beloved on the Great White Way, but when and where are they beloved by everyone else?

We'll be exploring the form of the musical compared to the form of a film and how creatives try and make the leap. We'll talk about the most and least successful adaptations and what the audience liked or didn't like about them. We will also address the recent discourse about marketing a musical.

Below, you can find the syllabus that breaks down the plan, week-by-week. This way, you know what to watch ahead of time, can read the supplemental reading if you want to take it to the next level, and basically prepare however you want, week to week, subject to subject.

Not yet a paid subscriber? Sign up here:

Week 1: Broadway’s Hollywood Problem

questions: Are there actually original musicals on Broadway? Why or why not? Are adaptations of movies really that successful? Why does Hollywood get a bad rap on the Great White Way?

film focus: Waitress: The Musical (2023)

reading: “Chapter 16: Another Broadway…Another Show…” in Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater by Larry Stempel (2010)

supplemental watching: Waitress (2007), Adrienne (2021)

Week 2: Hollywood’s Broadway Problem

questions: Hollywood wants to make musicals but they can’t market them as musicals - why is that? Also - what makes a successful adaptation?

film focus: Mean Girls (2024)

reading: “VIII. Final Number” in The Movie Musical! by Jeanie Basinger (2019), “Hollywood Is Hiding Its Musicals” by Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer, “‘Wonka’ Yummy With $39M Opening As Musicals Bounce Back At The Box Office” by Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline

supplemental watching: Wonka (2023) trailer, The Color Purple (2023) trailer

Week 3: The Art Form of the Musical

questions: What is musical structure? Where did it come from? How do we use music in a musical? How does that differ from film?

film focus: The Sound of Music (1965)

reading: “V. The Musical as an Art Form” in The Movie Musical! by Jeanie Basinger (2019), “Chapter 11: Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe” in When Broadway Went to Hollywood by Ethan Mordden (2016)

supplemental watching: Cabaret (1972)

Week 4: The Art Form of the Movie

questions: When does the framework of a film differ from a stage musical to the point of needing an entirely new structure?

film focus: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

reading: Hedwig and the Angry Inch: The Complete Text & Lyrics, text by John Cameron Mitchell, music & lyrics by Stephen Track (1998), “Chapter 16: Another Broadway…Another Show…” pages 665-668 in Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater by Larry Stempel (2010)

supplemental watching: Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig (2001)

Week 5: The Direction

questions: How do stage directors tackle musicals on film? How do film directors direct musicals cinematically?

film focus: A Little Night Music (1977), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

reading: “9. A Little Night Music (1973)” and “12. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979)” in Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim (2010), “Princely Acts” pages 136-147 and “Bloody Hell” chapters in Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy by Stephen M. Silverman (2023)

supplemental watching: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - In Concert with the New York Philharmonic (2014)