Screen to Stage and Back Again

It is only natural that many movie musicals were inspired by stage musicals. A hit show can bring a tested story, popular numbers, and even actors who’ve already learned the part. Musical theatre, on the other hand, finds inspiration in more varied sources: literature, opera, plays, popular song catalogues, famous lives. Of course, some stage musicals are based on films.

This list pairs those rare films to have inspired stage musicals so successful as to spawn their own movie adaptation. The list follows the chronology of the remakes.

Unlisted: A Little Night Music (1976, Harold Prince)- The film version of the Sondheim...