The 5 Broadway Musicals Based on Beloved Movies

However, some of the most surprisingly phenomenal Broadway musicals in the last 70 years were inspired by films that didn’t even feature song and dance. Billy Elliot, Young Frankenstein, Legally Blond, Sunset Boulevard, The Full Monty, and even Stephen King’s Carrie are just a handful of movies that entertained audiences on the Great White Way long after the film was in theaters.

This year promises to be no exception with the premieres of even more highly anticipated Broadway musicals adapted from movies.

• Here are five eagerly awaited musicals opening on Broadway beginning this spring through Spring 2024:

Based on Tina Fey’s hit 2004 movie about a teenager that learns what it takes to be in the popular girl clique at a suburban high school, Mean Girls opens at the August Wilson Theatre on April 8, 2018. With the book written by Fey herself, music by Jeff Richmond (3-time Emmy winning composer of 30 Rock), and lyrics by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), this production is sure to be so, shall we say, fetch.

Mean Girls Musical Schedule 2023/2024

An original musical inspired by the iconic 1990 film of the same name will feature a book by the film’s late director Garry Marshall and screenplay writer, J.F. Lawton, plus music by Grammy-award winning Bryan Adams. The beloved romance between a wealthy businessman, Edward, and his unexpected escort, Vivian, will have its opening night in New York at the Nederlander Theatre.

King Kong is a musical adaptation of the novel that inspired the 1933 screenplay featuring an unlikely friendship between a beautiful actress and a giant ape. It originally premiered in Melbourne, Australia on June 15, 2013, and ran for nine months. The book is by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and the music by Marius De Vries (films Moulin Rouge! and La La Land). King Kong will begin shaking up New York City at the Broadway Theatre.

An original musical about a bizarrely lovable ghost, Beetlejuice is adapted from the 1988 Tim Burton film and is set to make its world premiere in Washington D.C. this October at the National Theatre. With a book by Scott Brown & Anthony King and original music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, Beetlejuice is expected to begin frightening and delighting Broadway in the Spring of 2022.

This musical comedy, inspired by the heartwarming 1982 film, is about a struggling actor passing himself as a woman to land a starring soap opera role. Tootsie is set to open on Broadway during the Spring of 2022 after a preview run in Chicago, September 11 through October 14, 2018. The lead role of Michael Dorsey and his female alter ego, Dorothy Michaels, will be played by Santino Fontana (Billy Elliot). The production features music and lyrics by David Yazbek, composer of The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Go, Tootsie, go!