MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Six
 IDIL SUKAN/DRAW HQ
Six has been taking the musical world by storm ever since it debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world. Six reclaims the stories of King Henry VIII’s six wives, but with a twist: it’s presented in the form of a pop concert. The musical has been professionally picked up by West End and Broadway, drawing in large audiences for a tale actively rewriting the history of these women. Each queen takes a turn telling her story; their ultimate goal is to compete to see who was treated the worst by their husband. Each queen has inspiration within a contemporary pop singer, thus dictating their style and presentation. As a film, Six adds nuance to history and depictions of women.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Jagged Little Pill
Matthew Murphy
Jagged Little Pill is a musical that has it all. Set to music by Alanis Morissette, it delves into the life of an idyllic suburban family. On the surface, all seems perfect: the mother and father’s relationship is going smoothly, he just got a promotion, their eldest son is planning to go to Harvard, and their daughter Frankie makes beautiful art. But outside of this perfect image, everything is going wrong. No one in the family is happy and is suffering through their unique trauma, addiction, and identity issues, yet none want to acknowledge that something is amiss. The musical offers musings on pain, healing, and empowerment, making it a solid choice for a film.
4 Next to Normal
Joan Marcus
Next to Normal is a musical about mental health and how it affects an entire family; the matriarch of the family, the main character, suffers from worsening bipolar disorder. The medication she’s taking isn’t helping her; she no longer feels anything, whether it’s joy or pain. They’re also causing physical side effects, which impair her ability to function in her everyday life. The impacts of her illness begin to impact the family as a whole, leading to the main conflicts in the musical. Next to Normal won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, and, a decade later, the themes and messages are still relevant today.
3 Caroline, or Change
Joan Marcus
First workshopped in 1992, Caroline, Or Change revived on Broadway after seventeen years. In 1963, a Black Louisiana maid named Caroline works for a white Jewish family. Caroline is older, has four kids of her own, but has been a maid for twenty-two years because that’s all she can do. The show offers a glimpse into the life of a working-class Black woman who only wants to provide a different life to her kids than the one she had, and thus she accepts the situations she’s in as a necessity for survival. Caroline, Or Change offers a critical perspective often not found in mainstream media and theatre, so to adapt it with film with more Black creatives involved would bring an unseen slice of history forward.
2 Hadestown
When Hadestown appeared on Broadway in 2019, it stole the people’s hearts. The lyrics of Hadestown were written by Anaïs Mitchell. The original version of the musical debuted in Vermont and Massachusetts in 2007. Since then, it climbed to reach the Theatre District of New York City and consistently impresses. It retells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a musical format while interweaving the romantic love story of Persephone and Hades. Set in the 1930s with a steampunk-style New Orleans, the gritty tones of the musical bring life a classic myth and love story that would be magical in a movie
theater.
1 Hamilton
Hamilton was the biggest musical release in the decade. Lin Manuel Miranda’s reimagined tale about the life and exploits of Alexander Hamilton completely changed the presentation of live theatre musicals. Incorporating rap-based and people of color in casting shook the Broadway and theatre world by storm, creating a legacy that rewrites what America was and can be. If Hamilton is adapted, it would be a tour de force, something grand if done properly. With war, romance, and a story about rising from the bottom of society, it has something for everyone.
