In honor of the theatrical release of “Cats” on Friday, here are 20 musicals that have gone from the stage to the screen.
‘West Side Story’
The 1957 Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein was made into a film in 1961. Another movie adaptation of “West Side Story” directed by Steven Spielberg is slated to come out Dec. 18, 2020.
‘The Music Man’
The Meredith Willson musical saw its Broadway debut in 1957, later adapted for the screen in 1962 and again in 2003 as a TV film starring Kristin Chenoweth.
‘My Fair Lady’
George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion” became a Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical titled “My Fair Lady” featuring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in 1956 and a movie with Audrey Hepburn and Harrison in 1964.
‘The Sound of Music’
Andrews and Christopher Plummer starred in the 1965 film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1959 musical. A live TV version featuring Carrie Underwood came out in 2013.
‘Hello, Dolly!’
Barbra Streisand played the lead role in Gene Kelly’s 1969 movie made from the 1964 musical based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “The Merchant of Yonkers.”
‘Fiddler on the Roof’
The 1971 film with music by John Williams was based on a 1964 Broadway musical taken from Sholem Aleichem’s “Tevye and his Daughters.”
‘Grease’
The 1971 musical became a 1978 film featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. A live TV version featuring Julianne Hough came out in 2016.
‘Annie’
The 1977 Broadway musical taken from Harold Gray’s “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip was adapted for the screen in 1982, 1999 and 2014.
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’
Donny Osmond starred in the 1999 film adaptation of the 1982 musical featuring Tim Rice’s lyrics and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music.
‘Chicago’
The 1975 stage musical, based on a 1926 play, became a movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere in 2002.
‘Phantom of the Opera’
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical came from a novel by Gaston Leroux and was turned into a film in 2004.
‘Rent’
The 1996 Broadway rock musical featuring Idina Menzel, derived from Puccini’s opera “La Boheme,” was adapted into a 2005 film.
‘Hairspray’
The 2007 movie “Hairspray” starring Travolta was based on a 2002 Broadway musical, taken from a 1988 comedy film.
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’
The 1973 play became a 1979 musical and later a 2007 Tim Burton movie with Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter.
‘Mamma Mia!’
The 1999 jukebox musical based on ABBA’s songs became a 2008 film featuring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried.
‘Les Miserables’
Carter and Seyfried joined a star-studded lineup including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne in a 2012 movie version of “Les Miserables” based on the 1980 musical taken from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel.
‘Into the Woods’
Depp, Streep, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine are among the cast in Disney’s 2014 “Into the Woods,” which comes from a 1987 Broadway musical inspired by Grimm Brothers fairy tales.
‘Cats’
The 2019 film featuring stars like Corden, Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson and Jason Derulo comes from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.”
‘In the Heights’
“In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2008 Broadway musical, is set to be released as a film on June 26, 2020.
‘Wicked’
The hit 2003 Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz is expected to be released as a film on Dec. 22, 2021.