A lot changes from stage to screen. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the most significant changes that movie musicals made in the transition from stage to screen.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the most significant changes that movie
00:10musicals made in the transition from stage to screen.
00:13For Broadway and cinema fans, this list has spoilers aplenty.
00:17I'll be on television, get the money, and then we'll live happy ever after.
00:20Oh Audrey, I'll give you a wonderful life with no plants, I promise, no plants at all.
00:2710.
00:28Evan Comes Clean – Dear Evan Hansen
00:30Things really aren't good here.
00:31I know, I just, I had to come.
00:34Audiences fell in love with Dear Evan Hansen when it debuted on Broadway in 2016.
00:38The more people analyzed Evan's choices, though, the more apparent some of the show's
00:42narrative issues became.
00:44The film adaptation, for all its faults, at least tries to rectify this in the final act.
00:49I was never friends with Connor Murphy.
00:53I lied, repeatedly, to his family, to Alana, to all of you.
01:04In the stage version, Evan confesses to the Murphys that he lied about his friendship
01:08with Connor.
01:09Although the family is heartbroken, Zoe ultimately forgives Evan, who doesn't face any real consequences
01:14for telling such a colossal lie.
01:17If anything, he's celebrated for it.
01:19In the movie, Evan posts a video on social media, admitting everything and absolving
01:23the Murphys of online hate.
01:25Evan becomes a social outcast again as he seeks redemption.
01:339.
01:45Rapunzel Lives – Into the Woods
01:47When it was announced that Disney was adapting
01:48Into the Woods, we feared the musical might lose its grim edge.
01:52To our delight, the film remained mostly faithful with several characters meeting twisted fates.
01:57One character is given a much happier ending, however.
02:00Rapunzel!
02:01Rapunzel!
02:02Rapunzel!
02:03Rapunzel!
02:04Rapunzel!
02:05Rapunzel!
02:06Rapunzel!
02:07Rapunzel!
02:08Rapunzel!
02:09Rapunzel!
02:10Rapunzel!
02:11Rapunzel!
02:12Rapunzel!
02:13Rapunzel!
02:14Rapunzel!
02:15Rapunzel!
02:17As a result, Rapunzel becomes pregnant, giving birth to twins.
02:19The film version of Rapunzel is also less emotionally tormented by the pain her adoptive
02:23mother inflicted.
02:24You're the one who blinded me.
02:27And locked me in a tower.
02:29To protect you.
02:30And banished me to an island in the middle of a swamp.
02:33I was just trying to be a good mother.
02:36Most significantly, Rapunzel survives the film, whereas in the show, a giant stomps
02:40on her.
02:41Rapunzel is left on the cutting room floor, along with Rapunzel's hair.
02:44Excuse me for this.
02:46Ah!
02:47Ah!
02:48Ah!
02:49Ah!
02:50Ah!
02:51Ah!
02:52Ah!
02:53Ah!
02:54Ah!
02:55Ah!
02:56Ah!
02:57Ah!
02:58Ah!
02:59Ah!
03:00Ah!
03:01Ah!
03:02Ah!
03:03Ah!
03:04Ah!
03:05Ah!
03:06Ah!
03:07Ah!
03:08Ah!
03:09Ah!
03:11Ah!
03:12Ah!
03:13Ah!
03:14Ah!
03:15Ah!
03:16Ah!
03:17Ah!
03:18Ah!
03:19Ah!
03:20Ah!
03:21Ah!
03:22Ah!
03:23Ah!
03:24Ah!
03:25Ah!
03:26Ah!
03:27Ah!
03:28Ah!
03:29Ah!
03:30Ah!
03:31Ah!
03:32Ah!
03:33Ah!
03:34Ah!
03:35Ah!
03:36Ah!
03:37Ah!
03:38Ah!
03:39Ah!
03:40Drop you!
03:42It swapped with Cool, which felt more appropriate for the darker second half.
03:46The 1961 film also moved up I Feel Pretty,
03:49although Steven Spielberg's remake shifted Maria's signature number back to the beginning of Act 2.
03:54What?
03:55Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, such a pretty face!
03:59Such a pretty face!
04:00Number 7.
04:01A less violent Sandy.
04:03Grease.
04:04As beloved as Grease is, audiences understandably have reservations about Sandy's character arc.
04:09Tell me about it.
04:11Stay.
04:12In the end, she essentially conforms to Please Danny, adopting a new wardrobe and persona.
04:18While the film doesn't change this, it does cut Sandy's most out-of-character moment.
04:22Patty Simcox, the bad seed of Rydell High.
04:25Oh, I just love the first day of school, don't you?
04:27It's the biggest thrill of my life.
04:29Oh, you'll never guess what's happened.
04:31Probably not.
04:32The stage version of Patty Simcox is more antagonistic, trying to steal Danny away from Sandy.
04:37When Sandy shows up in Greaser attire, Patty calls her a floozy.
04:40This prompts Sandy to give Patty a black eye.
04:43Their rivalry is removed from the film, along with this physical altercation.
04:47You're the one that I want was just an uplifting addition to the movie.
04:50We think the song's feel-good nature might have been tarnished if it followed a scene where Sandy punches out Patty.
04:56Well, I hope you'll be a cheerleader tryouts.
04:58We'll have so much fun and get to be lifelong friends.
05:01Number 6.
05:02Dorothy all grown up.
05:03The Wiz.
05:04In virtually any Wizard of Oz adaptation, Dorothy is a farm girl from Kansas who dreams of a more adventurous life.
05:10The stage version of The Wiz is no exception, but the 1978 film made some questionable choices.
05:16And you will be grown.
05:20You'll be out in the world.
05:23Such a pretty girl.
05:25But you'll be on your own.
05:29In addition to swapping Kansas for Harlem, Dorothy isn't a young girl in this interpretation.
05:34She's a shy 24-year-old school teacher played by a then 33-year-old Diana Ross.
05:39Though I never knew the song, some words still catch on.
05:46Like caring and sharing.
05:56While Ross' singing gifts cannot be denied, Motown CEO Barry Gordy wasn't the only one
06:01who felt she was too old for the role.
06:03Gordy had his eye on Stephanie Mills, who originally played Dorothy on Broadway.
06:07When Ross convinced Rob Cohen of Universal to finance the picture if she was cast, though,
06:12Gordy gave her the silver slippers.
06:14I don't want these shoes.
06:16I wanna go home.
06:18Number 5.
06:19Young Dolly.
06:20Hello, Dolly.
06:21While Diana Ross was seen as too old to pull off Dorothy, Barbara Streisand was a much
06:25younger Dolly Levi than theater audiences anticipated.
06:28I have always been a woman who arranges things for the pleasure and the profit it derives.
06:40Carol Channing was in her early 40s when she originated the role on Broadway, winning a Tony.
06:45When Streisand got cast in the film, she was in her 20s.
06:49Fair Dolly, you're still going, you're still going, you're still going strong.
06:59Age aside, Channing and Streisand have very different acting and singing styles.
07:03Dolly was bound to change as a result.
07:05Channing made it no secret that she wanted to reprise her role,
07:08but producer Ernest Lehman felt, quote,
07:10her personality was just too much for the cameras to contain.
07:14After Streisand booked the part, Channing wished her luck in a telegram.
07:17Yet even Streisand felt they, quote,
07:19should have used an older woman.
07:21At your age, you ought to enjoy hearing the truth.
07:23My age, my age, you're always talking about my age.
07:26I don't even know what your age is, but I do know that up at Jonkers with bad food
07:29and bad taboo, you'll double it in six months.
07:31Now sit down, Horace, and let's talk of something else.
07:33Number four, replacing songs with dialogue.
07:36Rent.
07:37In 2005, mainstream audiences generally assumed that all musicals had some dialogue.
07:42So if an average viewer saw Rent on stage,
07:44they may be surprised to discover it was almost entirely sung through.
07:48A dream can become a reality, you'll see boys.
07:56Hollywood seemingly didn't think moviegoers were ready for this
07:59when Rent hit the silver screen.
08:00While the show's most iconic numbers are preserved for the most part,
08:04many of the songs were substituted with dialogue.
08:06I hired Joanne as my production manager,
08:09and I don't think she knows what the hell she's doing.
08:11If you could just, please baby, just come over to the performance space.
08:14This might have made the material more accessible to normies,
08:17but Jonathan Larson's words undeniably packed a more powerful punch as lyrics
08:21rather than straightforward lines.
08:23This change seemed to alienate Broadway loyalists without attracting many new fans.
08:28When the movie remembers that it's a musical, though,
08:30we're given a glimpse of what could have been.
08:34Seasons of love
08:43I will call you home
08:54Number three, Going to Vietnam, Hair.
08:57This musical saw several changes on its journey from stage to screen,
09:01but the most hair-raising alteration is saved for last.
09:04Claude spends most of the stage version rebelling against the draft
09:07before being sent to Vietnam.
09:09The film drastically overhauls Claude's character arc,
09:12turning him into a wide-eyed innocent from Oklahoma
09:14who arrives in New York after being drafted.
09:17You want me to give you some money?
09:18Right.
09:20Why?
09:21Why?
09:24Well, no reason, man, except, like, she's pregnant,
09:26and we haven't eaten for two days.
09:27On his way, Claude gets sidetracked
09:29as a hippie tribe introduces him to free love.
09:31Instead of Claude, tribe leader Berger ultimately
09:34takes his place and dies in Vietnam.
09:36And I believe that God believes in love
09:41That's me, that's me
09:45Although the film was a success,
09:47lyricists Jerome Ragni and James Rado felt their musical
09:50has yet to truly receive the screen treatment.
09:53Fans are still waiting for Hollywood to let the sun shine in.
09:56Let the sun shine in
10:00The sun's shining
10:08Despite his Broadway background,
10:10Bob Fosse took his film adaptation of Cabaret
10:12in a different direction.
10:14With Liza Minnelli playing Sally Bowles,
10:16the lead went from English to American.
10:18Likewise, Cliff Bradshaw, renamed Brian Roberts,
10:21became British instead of American.
10:23We're practically living together.
10:25So if you only liked boys,
10:27I mean, I wouldn't dream of pestering you.
10:30But do you sleep with girls or don't you?
10:32Sally, you don't ask questions like that.
10:35I do.
10:36With his bisexuality being more openly discussed,
10:39the character of Maximilian is added to create a love triangle.
10:42Most notably, Fosse's film cut a substantial subplot
10:45involving Fräulein Schneider, a genteel landlord,
10:48and Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit shop owner.
10:51Schneider still played a minor role,
10:53while Schultz was cut with several songs.
10:55If in your emotion
10:58You began to sway
11:02Went to get some air
11:04Or grabbed a chair
11:06To keep from fainting dead away
11:10In place of their star-crossed romance,
11:12the film introduces two new characters,
11:14Fritz Wendel and Natalia Landauer.
11:16Although different from the show,
11:18these additions draw from the source material
11:20I Am a Camera and Goodbye to Berlin.
11:22Now look, he's got this book,
11:23and it's got to be translated.
11:25And I told him what a famous writer you are,
11:27and it's 50 marks.
11:28Right?
11:29Mm-hmm.
11:30Babelhoft.
11:31It's all settled.
11:32Before we unveil our top pick,
11:34here are a few honorable,
11:35or in some cases dishonorable, mentions.
11:38A Wonderful Town, On the Town,
11:40because Helluva was too edgy for censors in 1949.
11:44New York, New York
11:49It's a wonderful town
11:55Flashbacks, A Chorus Line,
11:57Zack and Cassie's history takes center stage.
12:14Tobias' Fate, Sweeney Todd,
12:16The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
12:18After slaying Todd in the stage show,
12:20Toby gets caught at the meat grinder.
12:28Albert is a research chemist.
12:30Bye-bye Bertie.
12:31He's no longer an agent,
12:32or an aspiring English teacher.
12:34That's a wonderful profession.
12:36But Mama, she was...
12:38Just because she was once invulnerable
12:40doesn't mean that you belong in show business.
12:42Several characters,
12:43cats,
12:44Victoria's the protagonist,
12:45Macavity's a villain,
12:47Deuteronomy's female,
12:48and everyone's riskier.
13:05Before we continue,
13:06be sure to subscribe to our channel
13:08and ring the bell to get notified
13:10about our latest videos.
13:12You have the option to be notified
13:14for occasional videos,
13:15or all of them.
13:16If you're on your phone,
13:17make sure you go into your settings
13:19and switch on notifications.
13:31Even for a show with a human eating plant,
13:33Little Shop of Horrors
13:34ends on an astonishingly dark note
13:36with our romantic leads dying
13:38and the world invaded.
13:39But hey,
13:40as long as the actors return to take a bow,
13:42the audience will leave with closure.
13:44Frank Oz didn't realize this
13:45when an estimated $5 million
13:47went into shooting his film's ending,
13:49which remained faithful to the stage version.
13:51They wouldn't release it that way.
13:52They couldn't release it.
13:53I knew the cards were not gonna be good,
13:55but only 13% of the audience
13:56would recommend this thing
13:58because of the ending.
13:59After two disastrous test screenings,
14:01Oz and Howard Ashman
14:02relented that another ending was needed.
14:04In addition to removing the finale,
14:06new footage was shot
14:07with Jim Belushi filling in for Paul Dooley.
14:09While Seymour and Audrey live happily ever after
14:12in the theatrical cut,
14:13the original ending
14:14has been restored
14:15in all its mean green glory.
14:25Which changes do you think
14:26were for the best?
14:27Or worse?
14:28Let us know in the comments.
14:29No!
14:30Keep your contract.
14:31Nobody's touching that plate, you hear?
14:33Hey, hey, hey,
14:34we're offering a lot of money here.
14:35Forget the money.
14:36Keep the money and get out of here.
14:37Go on!
14:38What, you're not?
14:39Yeah, I'm not!
14:40Do you agree with our picks?
14:41Check out this other recent clip
14:42from Ms. Mojo
14:44and be sure to subscribe
14:45and ring the bell
14:46to be notified
14:47about our latest videos.