The Movie Musical: How Did They Do?

What did they get right? What did they get wrong?

Over the past eight weeks, we've examined what makes or breaks a movie musical when it jumps from the stage to the screen. It's now time to put all these thoughts together, taking a look at the film adaptations of four of Broadway's biggest hits: The Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia!, and Jersey Boys. We know that they work on stage, from New York to London to your local dinner theatre, so we can use these long-running and highly successful pieces to explore success on the silver screen. 

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Deformed since birth, a bitter man known only as the Phantom lives in the sewers underneath the Paris Opera House. He falls in love with the obscure chorus singer Christine, and privately tutors her while terrorizing the rest of the opera house and demanding Christine be given lead roles. Things get worse when Christine meets back up with her childhood acquaintance Raoul and the two fall in love.