4. Burlesque
Depending on your walk of life, Burlesque and its promise of two huge stars Cher and Christina Aguilera will either excite or repulse you, and it often seems like the duo take interest away from the film and the music itself. The soundtrack features a mixture of original and cover songs, a combination that would give a stage production flexibility with what direction it wanted to go in. With numbers like Welcome To Burlesque, Tough Lover and even Alan Cumming singing Thats Life in the DVD extras, there are some big, big songs here. Critically, due to the burlesque setting, many of the songs are directly relevant in the story and arent just characters breaking out to proclaim their emotions, a musical preference of many theatregoers who like the story to be more consistent than musicals often offer. The main problem with Burlesque being considered as a stage show is its similarities in tone and style to Chicago. The success of this show bodes well for Burlesques potential, but people might not be bothered to go and see such a similar one so soon after it closed in the West End. However, the dual leading ladies in Tess and Ali (Cher/Christina) provide a tempting dynamic that could be fully played up on stage in all its sultry glamour.