Celebrate Musical Theatre

The Movie Musical: Relative of the Stage Musical

A relative of the stage musical is the movie musical. A musical on Broadway might be made into a movie musical. While it is the same musical, it is a different experience. The movie performer does get immediate feedback from the audience when they perform. The performer will get audience feedback if they also attend the movie, but the connection between performance connection is one-way.

Stage and movie musicals differ in a variety of ways. In the movies, the performance can be made many times, but only needs to be right once; on the stage, the performer gets one opportunity with each audience and the it needs to be performed correctly every time. In the movies, the singing is normally recorded separately and then lip synched on screen; the stage performer is singing, dancing, all at once.

Below is a little of great movie musicals. Some musicals, such as Show Boat, have been done more than once. Rather than pit the same music against itself, each show is listed only once.

1776
 
42nd Street
 
An American In Paris
 
Bye Bye Birdie
 
Brigadoon
 
Cabaret

Daddy Long Legs
 
Easter Parade
 
Fiddler on the Roof
 
Funny Face
 
Funny Girl
 
Grease
 
Grease 2
 
Guys and Dolls
 
Hair
 
Hairspray
 
High Society
 
Hollywood Canteen
 
Jesus Christ Superstar
 
Mary Poppins
 
Meet Me In St. Louis
 
My Fair Lady
 
Oklahoma
 
On the Town
 
Pal Joey
 
Pirates of Penzance
 
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
 
Show Boat
 
Silk Stalkings
 
Singing in the Rain
 
Stage Door Canteen
 
State Fair
 
Strike Up the Band
 
Swing Time
 
Summer Stock
 
The Band Wagon
 
The Barkleys of Broadway
 
The King and I
 
The Road to Moraco
 
The Sound of Music
 
The Wizard of Oz
 
Top Hat
 
West Side Story
 
White Christmas
 
Yankee Doodle Dandy