9 Musicals Hollywood Needs To Adapt Right Now
Musicals don’t always transition neatly from stage to film, although the ones that work often stay with audiences for years. A strong adaptation doesn’t copy the play beat for beat. It utilizes the camera, soundtrack, and the freedom of film to create a fresh experience.
Broadway still has an entire catalog of stories waiting for that kind of treatment. Hollywood has barely tapped into it. These musicals feel especially ripe for a thoughtful, modern reimagining that could give them an even bigger impact on screen.
Hadestown
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The musical uses folk and jazz to retell an old myth with a worn, aching feel. Its sound builds tension without getting loud, and the underworld looks industrial and heavy with emotion. The love story moves through that space with a soft echo. A film wouldn’t need a big makeover. It would only need someone who knows how to handle the texture and keep things grounded.
Next to Normal
Credit: Youtube
Few shows cut this close to the skin. Next to Normal doesn’t stretch beyond a family’s walls, but that’s where the weight sits. Mental illness is the main plot. A film version would probably ask for more precision, control, and a filmmaker who knows how to sit with discomfort without turning away.
The Book of Mormon
Credit: Youtube
Trey Parker and Matt Stone turned a risky premise into one of Broadway’s biggest hits. The satire still hits hard, and the music never lets up. It’s bold, absurd, and somehow still full of heart. A film adaptation would thrive under the duo’s own direction
Company
Credit: Wikipedia
The story never moves in a neat line because Sondheim shaped it to feel like memory itself, full of loops, hesitation, and sharp self-reflection. A film could lean into that by staying with Bobby’s inner world in a way the stage can’t. Onscreen, the pieces of his relationships could feel closer, more fragmented, and more personal, guided by a director who understands the strain and confusion that come with trying to connect today.
Once on This Island
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The story takes place in the Caribbean and reshapes The Little Mermaid through questions of class, colonization, and destiny. Its world grows through songs, folktales, and the way the community carries the story forward. A film could keep that same gentle rhythm, letting color, dance, and landscape do the emotional work. The magic would land best if it stays rooted in culture rather than drifting into pure fantasy.
Pippin
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Theater kids know Pippin as the existential circus that questions everything. Its story follows a young man trying to figure out what matters—glory, love, freedom, nothing? The stage version played with minimalism, but a film could take that approach to a new level.
Ragtime
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The narrative already feels suited for film, with three storylines running alongside one another until they finally cross. That setup would give a movie room to linger on the quiet beats. The show deals with big themes but never depends on oversized gestures, and the moments that stay with you are often the smallest ones.
Heathers: The Musical
Credit: IMDb
The story takes the movie’s dark humor and turns it into something sharper. Veronica sings what she refuses to say, which gives the whole thing a strange, blunt honesty. A screen version works best when it mixes that theatrical edge with the pressure of high school life, where shadows feel longer and smiles feel a little too bright.
American Idiot
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Green Day’s American Idiot gave post-9/11 aimlessness a punk rock voice. The musical follows three friends as they navigate war, media, and disillusionment. It’s fast, messy, and loud, but the emotion still cuts through. On film, the visual pacing could match the score beat for beat. It just needs someone who isn’t afraid to take a bold approach to the editing.