Movie or musical? (Part 1)
From DeLoreans to dentata.
To call this theater season crowded would be a massive understatement. By my count, 300 new shows have opened this month alone (I didn’t fact-check this), and that’s on top of the many plays and musicals that came and went over the past year. While I don’t generally write traditional reviews, there’s a lot I’ve wanted to cover—and at the same time, I’ve felt daunted by the scope of the season and unsure of where to begin.
But as a person pathologically committed to lists, rankings, and other forms of categorizations, it occurred to me that one of the best ways to work through this season (at least in part) would be to organize it into trends. And the first thing that came to mind as I found myself at my fourth show of the week: movies adapted into musicals.
This is not a new trend, of course. Recent years have brought us a wide range of shows based on movies: Some Like It Hot, Almost Famous, Groundhog Day, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Band’s Visit, Mr. Saturday Night, Moulin Rouge, Mean Girls, Beetlejuice… I could go on. But there are so many this year that I actually couldn’t combine them all into one post. So, here are the first three for which I decided to pose the question, movie or musical? The category is “genre,” roughly, although try not to think about it too deeply.
Note: I am always in favor of seeing live theater. I also love movies, but they are no substitute for the theatrical experience—whether they’re a pro-shot, an adaptation of a stage musical, or the inspiration for a play. This “movie or musical?” exercise is simply a way of trying to organize my thoughts about the abundance of theater options, and should only be taken as seriously as you feel like taking it.
Back to the Future: The Musical
I first saw Back to the Future: The Musical when I was in London, because I was morbidly curious and tickets are way more affordable there. I’ve never been a big fan of the original trilogy—or rather, I respect it from a distance, because time travel stresses me out. But I thought having no attachment to the source material might actually help, since I wouldn’t be comparing the stage show to the film.
As it turns out, the musical only really works if you love the movie and want to see a shockingly similar copy with a handful of forgettable songs peppered throughout (along with a few good ones, straight from the film). And the Broadway production is essentially identical to what I saw in London, except that the New York audience was more inclined to say lines along with the actors and interject “it’s just like the movie!” comments throughout. (When you’re right, you’re right!)
Aside from Roger Bart, who is sort of doing his own thing as Doc Brown, the rest of the cast are doing impressions of the movie actors that border on the uncanny valley. Casey Likes and Hugh Coles are both talented, but their performances are so indebted to Michael J. Fox and Crispin Glover, respectively, that it’s hard not to feel like the whole exercise is superfluous.
Movie or musical: While the flying DeLorean is admittedly fun, I can’t say it’s worth the price of admission. Stick to the movie, and if you want to see “The Power of Love” performed on a Broadway stage, check out The Heart of Rock and Roll.
Teeth
As a fan of the movie Teeth and a person who is always advocating for more bloodshed onstage (revive American Psycho, you cowards), Teeth was one of my most anticipated shows of the season. It took me a while to finally see it, but it was very much worth the wait—and it’s also the only show on this list with a closing date (April 28!), so if you can manage to snag a ticket in the next week, you should absolutely do that.
I sort of assumed that Back to the Future didn’t necessitate a plot description, but Teeth is a deeper cut (although if you’re following me, maybe less so). So, briefly: Teeth follows Dawn, a devout Christian teen who preaches abstinence, while repressing her sexual urges. When her boyfriend Tobey pressures her into sex and then assaults her, she discovers that her vagina is equipped with razor-sharp teeth. (Tobey also discovers this, the hard way.)
Anna K. Jacobs’ and Michael R. Jackson’s show expands on the original film in a number of interesting ways, including deepening its thematic exploration of purity culture, and expanding its conception of toxic masculinity with incels and religious patriarchy. The songs are bitingly funny (sorry) and appropriately vicious, the kind of musical theater storytelling that answers the question, did this really need to be a musical? As a fan of Carrie the musical, that’s not something I find myself asking often, but I understand it’s sort of intrinsic to this exercise.
Movie or musical: Both versions of Teeth are very much worth your time. I do think the musical is a fascinating escalation of the film, and the rage and agency it gives Dawn feel more relevant to a 2024 audience. But the movie has some astoundingly gnarly gore and a great performance from the perpetually underappreciated Jess Weixler, so don’t miss that either.
The Who’s Tommy
Yeah, this one is a cheat: The Who’s Tommy is not based on the 1975 Ken Russell movie, but on the 1969 rock opera album. The film is, of course, also based on the album, and both adaptations tell the story a little bit differently. This is a post comparing movies to musicals, however, so you’re just going to have to work with me here. (I guess I could have done a separate post about musicals based on albums. Thank you, Illinoise!)
I had never listened to Tommy or watched Tommy or seen The Who’s Tommy, so I rented the movie before attending the stage show. I’m going to be honest, I kind of assumed there was more of a plot, or at least something slightly grounded in reality, but no matter. Tommy is much more about the music and the vibes than about anything that actually happens. I don’t know that I was ever entirely on the film’s wavelength, but Ann-Margret is an icon, and few things bring me more joy than watching Elton John perform “Pinball Wizard.”
The musical does not have Elton John or Ann-Margret, but it does have “Pinball Wizard,” and that goes a long way. The cast is strong and the numbers are propulsive—even if you don’t know (or don’t care about) what’s going on, the production is thrilling where it needs to be. At the same time, there’s so little to latch onto that it’s easy to see where it’s lacking. Like, for example: I understand minimalist sets are what we’re doing now, but would it kill them to invest in an actual pinball machine?
Movie or musical: Neither is exactly my thing. If you like The Who, you can’t really go wrong either way. I will simply point out that only the movie features a sequence in which Ann-Margret rolls around in baked beans, so use that information as you will.
As someone who was dragged to The Girl From The North Country, counting on the story to get me through the songs (whoops, bad plan), at least I know the songs and the movie Tommy, and look forward to singing along quietly when it eventually tours the Midwest.
But what do you mean, NO PINBALL MACHINE? That's kind of required, to dance around it, if nothing else.
You really nailed how I felt about Back To The Future. I also saw it in London, and when the curtain went down at the end of Act I, the audience was buzzing with being impressed and LOVING it, and my friend and I turned to each other and said, "It's bad... right?" If you're not in love with the source material, you see the production for what it really is.