8 Musicals Being Made Into Movies (And Why You Should Care)

6. The Last Five Years

The Musical: Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, Off-Broadway€™s The Last Five Years explores the relationship of Jamie and Cathy, a writer and actress respectively, falling in and out of love over the course of €“ you guessed it €“ five years. The tale of their struggling marriage is told in two timelines from the two characters€™ perspectives, one forward and one in reverse, that intersect only once in the one-act musical, on their wedding day. This concept emphasizes the poignant musical€™s exploration of love and time. Why The Movie€™s Worth Watching: Currently in post-production, the film adaptation of The Last Five Years is set to star the brilliant Anna Kendrick and Broadway golden boy Jeremy Jordan in the two lead roles. Along with such talented names attached to it, The Last Five Years€™ unique chronology will lend itself to film in a novel, exciting way, giving the music and story the visual depth and resonance that the stage, with all of its magic, can€™t quite always achieve. Think of something like Christopher Nolan€™s masterfully told Memento €“ except with show-tunes! Character-driven, emotional songs instead of showy, bombastic numbers also contribute positively to a close-quarters film version that will hit hard without being schmaltzy and entertain without being campy. Provided that the two-person cast is fleshed out well, and the songs are integrated seamlessly into a script, The Last Five Years in the cinema could easily be defined by the aching emotional depth of the story and score, rather than just by its status as a musical. With that, even the €œwhy-do-musicals-have-so-much-singing€ critics might just buy a ticket and shed a tear.