This is not the first screen adaptation of a hit Broadway musical to bomb in recent months. IN THE HEIGHTS was a huge disappointment even though it had the sheen of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Steven Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY is a’comin’ and let’s see how that does. No Natalie Wood in this one.
But movie execs are scratching their heads. How could such a smash on stage be such a dud on the screen — especially since they were very true to the original? I’m probably the wrong person to ask because I hated the Broadway version. I did think Ben Platt was amazing — his singing and performance was thrilling, and how he could do that eight times a week is beyond me. But I hated the story. Implausible, sad, illogical, sad, endless, sad, every song was the same, sad, and sad. In these Covid times do we really want to go to the movies to be depressed for 2 1/2 hours? The answer was clearly no.
You could argue that the subject matter wasn’t meant for me. It was meant for young Gens with end-of-the-alphabet letters. Okay, but who goes to movie musicals? Generally older Gens.
And judging by Tony’s ratings, (they didn’t even air most of the actual ceremony on CBS), there is little interest in Broadway musicals. Not because they’re not good or even great, but because 98% of the country will never have the chance to see them. So a smash musical on Broadway might not be on most people’s radar.
Time have changed. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s soundtracks of hit musicals would top the Billboard charts. Songs from these shows because hit songs and standards. You’d hear tunes from MY FAIR LADY and THE KING AND I and PAJAMA GAME on most local radio stations. Top 40 stations played the crap out of Louis Armstrong’s HELLO DOLLY. Production numbers from these shows would be featured on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW at a time when 30,000,000 were watching. So when the original WEST SIDE STORY was made into a movie, the country was aware of it and curious to see for themselves what all the shouting was about. There’s none of that today.
Oh, and tickets were accessible. You could see THE MUSIC MAN for ten dollars. Today you need a bank loan to see the upcoming revival of THE MUSIC MAN. That certainly scares a few tourists away.
So I’m not surprised DEAR EVAN HANSEN tanked. And I don’t think you’ll be seeing movie versions of last night’s Tony winners for some time. (Congratulations to all the Tony winners, by the way.)
from By Ken Levine
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