Musicals are timeless. They are a staple in entertainment. A place where plays meet song. Although some trends change, musicals and Broadway are still very relevant and are surging back into mainstream with the release of new musicals, sparking the interest of all ages.

However, with the addition of new musicals there is also a resurgence of old musicals. The downside to this is the way in which these musicals are being introduced to those of the younger generation: movies. These movie adaptations need to stop, as shown best by the recent movie CATS. Although some musicals can work on the big screen, like The Sound of Music and Les Miserables, others are better performed on stage.

A good example would be the classic musical Newsies. Although it was backwards in that it was first a musical movie, it shows how the stage adds something new to an otherwise plain musical. The movie Newsies was a critical failure with 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and only getting a $2.8 million return out of a $15 million budget. It was safe to say that not many liked the movie; it received mostly negative-mixed reviews and was nominated as the worst picture of the year at the Golden Raspberry Awards of 1992 . So how, if the musical movie was so bad, do we remember it as such a good musical?

Broadway. When it was adapted to the stage in 2012, the show was brought to new life, being nominated for 8 Tony awards and winning two of them. 

This brings us back to the main issue. Should musicals be turned into movies? My answer is no. There is a certain magic in watching a musical on stage that you can’t get out of a movie. You know that a musical is 100% real, adding to the effect. It is personal. The pieces all fit together in a way that is truly amazing and cannot be replicated on screen.