3. Moulin Rouge!
In a similar fashion but pushing every extreme, Moulin Rouge is full of excess, glamour, vitality and a spirit that would be especially infectious in a live setting. A stage adaptation (La Belle Bizarre Du Moulin Rouge) toured Germany in 2008, but that didnt benefit us West End/Broadway loving folk in any way. There have been talks and speculation in the years since the film was released in 2001, but it turned out to be one of those dead-end projects that just didnt really get anywhere. However, its this sort of jukebox musical film that was equally critically and publicly acclaimed that is perfect for our theatres. The beautiful duet Come What May was the only original song in the movie, but every other song could either be sung or danced along to and moviegoers obviously loved it so why shouldnt the theatregoers who fell in love with Mamma Mia? These commercially viable songs include Madonnas Material Girl, Elton Johns Your Song and of course the huge Lady Marmalade. Although I personally hated the film for its vulgarity and lack of any subtlety- and some of the singing really wasnt great - I feel that all of these aspects could be vastly improved in a stage reinvention. Wonders can be done with good choreography and lighting, and of course no sub-par singer would be allowed a main role on stage. With all the recent interest in Baz Lurhmanns back catalogue in the wake of The Great Gatsby, maybe the talks of this stage conversion will be reignited.