What does it mean to be the Supreme?
In the third season of his outrageous horror anthology American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy introduces a coven of witches searching for their new Supreme, or all-powerful leader. The cycle dictates that as the Supreme weakens, a younger, more powerful underling will take her place.
Who holds the title of Supreme in modern cinema? During the peak of the 21st century, some might argue it’s Disney with its infinity rings of IPs — Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar — but the mouse’s rot is too noticeable. Lackluster animations, sloppy superhero films and trashed legacy sequels have dimmed Disney’s once magical luster. A growing void now calls for a new, all-powerful force to take over.
After Wicked’s record-breaking success, I’m convinced the movie musical will return to its rightful place as the movie du jour — the new Supreme. In that spirit, here are four musicals that could be next for the silver screen treatment.
What’s hot: Sunset Boulevard
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s monstrous spectacles often struggle to translate to the screen, but the haunting allure of Sunset Boulevard — stripped to its foundations in a riveting, award-winning revival — could break that curse.
Currently starring Nicole Scherzinger as the defiant but fading silent film star Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard tells the story of the forgotten corners of Hollywood. Overlooked writers, underpaid interns and actresses past their prime. Based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 noir film, the musical’s commentary on the dangers of fame and the film industry remains just as relevant nearly 75 years later.
There’s nothing Hollywood loves more than films about itself, and while Sunset Boulevard is transparently a critique, its multiple car-crash-in-slow-motion love affairs, show stopping ballads and the new era’s embrace of older women in the spotlight reignite passion for movies about movies.
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Despite its unprecedented success on Broadway, a movie adaptation would face immediate setbacks. The revival succeeds largely due to the unpredictability of live entertainment. Draws include marrying the mediums of screen and theater with projections throughout the show and a six-minute sequence on the streets of New York with narrator Joe Gillis, currently played by Broadway star Tom Francis.
It’s the electric anticipation that something might go wrong, much like its tale, that excites audiences. Take that away, add back some sparkle for the big screen, and the magic is gone.
For the kids: Heathers: The Musical
Beneath the flashy, big-budget musicals lies a wealth of cult classics that keep the underground theater community alive. Think Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors or Ride The Cyclone.
Calling Heathers: The Musical — the rock opera adaptation of the 1980s dark teen comedy — a cult classic, in spite of its massive success with Generation Z, is a stretch. But its following developed a hunger to see it elevated from its off-Broadway roots to the main stage. Could we skip this step altogether and throw it right onto the big screen?
Set in a sprawling high school community with multiple dramatic ballads, Heathers: The Musical is the extravagant, off-kilter film that teen and young adult audiences need. I’d kill for a midnight plaid jacket and mini-skirt presentation of Heathers: The Musical on screen. Catchy songs, revenge, murder and more car-crash love affairs.
Golden era remake: An American in Paris
Digressing from cult classics, since Wicked is anything but, what do audiences crave most from musicals? Is it heart? Romance? Big soprano ballads their mezzo-range daughters strain their voices to sing?
No. It’s the big numbers. Massive dance sequences spinning pastel hues on dancers’ dresses and vivid dreams brought to life with candy-colored lighting.
While not as prominent in the current public consciousness as Gene Kelly classics such as Singin’ in the Rain and Anchors Aweigh, the light love story between artists in An American in Paris is a sure draw for the whole family.
With the success of other remakes like West Side Story and a cry for the bright days of technicolor from some disgruntled fans of Wicked, touching one of the Kelly classics for a remake is an easy solution.
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But there lies a problem. Gene Kelly is a movie stars’ movie star, and upcoming talents will likely be hesitant to step into his shoes. Maybe Tom Holland will be up for the challenge if the Fred Astaire biopic falls through.
Inevitable: Hamilton
This is the one. Despite the glorious list I’ve presented of amorous noirs, dreamy cinematography and teenagers living out their revenge fantasies — plus countless fantastic more I didn’t name — there is no doubt to me Hamilton is what will arrive next for movie musicals.
It’s inevitable. Hamilton was inescapable — a phenomenon for the ages, enamoring audiences with the crazy tale of America’s first treasury secretary. A recognizable IP with which I know at least five people who’d be open to see it, is too good to ignore.
But the musical nor its more cheugy composer have aged well in the zeitgeist in the decade since its release. Despite its eclectic musical stylings and experimental take on hip-hop, a show essentially propping up the founding fathers isn’t what people might want to see in 2024.
And on top of that, the set of this film — bare industrial revolutionary Era New York — will look like the tuberculosis-laced dour nightmare of Les Miserable on screen. Coming off of the beautiful land of Oz, must this be where we travel to next? Hamilton stopped being Broadway Supreme a long time ago.
