Screen-to-stage adaptations bring beloved films to life

Every time news gets out that a new musical is going to be adapted from a well-known movie, many die-hard theater fans groan. Yet screen-to-stage adaptations shouldn't automatically be a source of scorn, especially when they're impeccably done.

Just look at "A Little Night Music," Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's highly sophisticated and award-winning 1973 adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film "Smiles of a Summer Night." Or marvel at the amazing theatricality of director/designer Julie Taymor's 1997 stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 blockbuster film "The Lion King."

A recent high-profile screen-to-stage musical adaptation is "Bring It On: The Musical," which rolls into Chicago for a three-week run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre starting on Tuesday, March 6.

"Bring It On," which premiered last year in Atlanta, joins two other screen-to-stage musicals in their Chicago-area regional theater debuts: "Legally Blonde" at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire (based upon the 2001 Reese Witherspoon film) and Porchlight Music Theatre's "A Catered Affair" at Chicago's Stage 773 (based on the 1956 Bette Davis film "The Catered Affair").

Also on the horizon are "Hairspray" (based on John Waters' 1988 film) at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace starting on Thursday, April 12, and "A Little Night Music" at Writers' Theatre in Glencoe starting on Tuesday, May 1.

So when it comes to theatricalizing a well-known film, there are plusses, minuses and unexpected hurdles that pop up, according to the creative types who make it all happen.

Despite its title, "Bring It On: The Musical" is not based on the popular 2000 film starring Kirsten Dunst as a high school cheerleading captain who must face up to her wealthy squad's past wrongs of cultural theft and appropriation. Instead, the musical version is inspired by the subsequent sequels since the rights to Jessica Bendinger's original film screenplay were not available.

"There were copyright issues," said "Bring It On: The Musical" director and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, not wanting to go into detail about the arbitration and undisclosed financial settlement reached between Bendinger and the musical's producers (which includes Universal Pictures Stage Productions). "Universal actually owns the title, but not the screenplay."

Rather than see this as a drawback, the highly esteemed creative team of "Bring It On: The Musical" jumped at the chance to fashion an original plot involving competitive cheerleading.

In addition to the Tony Award-winning Blankenbuehler, "Bring It On" features his Tony Award-winning "In the Heights" collaborator Lin Manuel-Miranda, who contributed to the hip hop-inflected and cheer-filled score alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tom Kitt ("Next to Normal") and lyricist Amanda Green ("High Fidelity"). Tony Award-winning playwright Jeff Whitty ("Avenue Q") was brought aboard to write the new script involving lots of creative back stabbing, revenge and a message that winning isn't everything.

Blankenbuehler notes that alongside musical theater pros, many competitive cheerleading veterans were cast to execute jaw-dropping stunts live onstage.

"Because the 'wow factor' is so big in the show, we also had to make sure that the emotions involved in the show equaled that sense of 'wow,'" Blankenbuehler said.

Heightened emotions were also key to composer/lyricist John Bucchino in writing his first Broadway musical, "A Catered Affair," which debuted in 2008. But unlike "Bring It On," Bucchino and playwright Harvey Fierstein had full access to the original film source material about a working-class family's arguments over an expensive wedding celebration.

"(Fierstein) constructed the entire script as a play and then we looked at it separately and made a list of moments where we thought the characters were having heightened-enough emotions where they would sing rather than speak," said Bucchino. "The lists were virtually identical, which was a very good sign because we were thinking along the same lines."

Another dilemma faced by stage directors and actors is how much to base their own work on pre-existing material in the original film.

In taking on the role of Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, actress Chelsea Packard says she didn't watch the entire original film, but relied more on individual movie scenes and the musical's script to craft her fashion-conscious character who braves Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back the man who dumped her.

"I find that watching someone else's approach is not a trap," Packard said. "I love Reese and try to channel as much of her as I can, but it's just a bit more physical, and more vocal energy is demanded when you're onstage."

As for director/choreographer Tammy Mader's upcoming work on "Hairspray" at Drury Lane, she found going back to the original 1988 film on DVD was extremely helpful in shaping her approach to the 2002 Broadway musical adaptation.

"I was really searching for the early roots of the piece, so I clicked on the John Waters commentary that runs throughout the movie," Mader said.

She was pleased to note, for example, that during auditions both she and Waters had a difficult time getting actors to properly dance "The Mashed Potato."

"He has some very strong feelings about Baltimore and the people he encountered living and growing up there," Mader said of Waters, "and I felt it really helped me to find the real heart of the movie and the show."

Rather than see the adaptation of films into stage musicals as a creative cop-out, Blankenbuehler feels there are benefits to audiences being familiar with a pre-existing story.

"These pop-culture films are accessible already because they have a recognizable branded name," Blankenbuehler said. "So they attract people to the theater to see the franchise name, but it opens up their imagination to what can be done theatrically where things don't always have to be so literal."

<b>Screen-to-Stage on Broadway this season</b>

Screen-to-stage adaptation of films "Kinky Boots" and "Bullets Over Broadway" were recently announced to debut in New York in 2013. ("Kinky Boots" will have an October pre-Broadway run in Chicago.) But here are four musicals that found their inspiration from films that are already booked for Broadway this season:

<b>"Once" -</b> The 2006 independent film about the romantic relationship between a Dublin busking songwriter and a Czech immigrant was transformed into an off-Broadway musical in 2011 at New York Theatre Workshop. "Once" features all of the songs written by Academy Award-winners Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova in the motion picture, plus two new songs. "Once" is now in previews on Broadway at the Jacobs Theatre. Visit oncemusical.com for more information.

<b>"Ghost The Musical" -</b> The Academy Award-winning 1990 metaphysical romantic drama "Ghost" was transformed into an acclaimed London musical in 2011 by the creative team of Bruce Rubin, Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics fame). "Ghost: The Musical" begins performances in New York at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Thursday, March 15. Visit ghostonbroadway.com.

<b>"Newsies: The Musical" -</b> Critics lambasted the 1992 Disney screen musical about early 1900s New York newsboys who go on strike, but the film became something of a cult favorite on video and DVD thanks to composer Alan Menken's rousing score and fans of the British actor Christian Bale seeking out his early film work. A stage version of "Newsies" adapted by playwright Harvey Fierstein with new songs by Menken and lyricist Jack Feldman was just going to get a regional staging at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011, but superlative reviews prompted Disney Theatrical Productions to move the show to Broadway. The limited Broadway run of "Newsies: The Musical" begins Thursday, March 15, and goes through Sunday, June 10, at the Nederlander Theatre in New York. Visit newsiesthemusical.com.

<b>"Leap of Faith" -</b> In addition to "Newsies" and the already-running 2011 musical "Sister Act," composer Alan Menken ("The Little Mermaid," "Little Shop of Horrors") is represented on Broadway with another screen-to-stage adaptation with "Leap of Faith." Menken's musical take on the 1992 film starring Steve Martin as a deceptive faith healer has already received a production in Los Angeles. That version has been heavily retooled for Broadway, and starts performances on Tuesday, April 3, at the St. James Theatre in New York. Visit leapoffaithbroadway.com.

“Bring It On: The Musical”

Location: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or BroadwayInChicago.com

Showtimes: March 6 through March 25; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Sunday, March 11; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday (starting March 14)

Tickets: $18-$85

“Legally Blonde: The Musical”

Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com

Showtimes: Now through Sunday, April 1; 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $40-$48 with discounts available for students and seniors to select performances

“A Catered Affair”

Location: Porchlight Music Theatre at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org

Showtimes: Now through Sunday, April 1; 7:30 p.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $38 with discounts available for students and groups

“Hairspray”

Location: Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com

Showtimes: Thursday, April 12, through Sunday, June 17; 1:30 p.m. Wednesday; 1:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday; 8:30 p.m. Friday; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $30-$41