Overview
It happened with Cabaret, Chicago, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Grease. With far less enjoyable results, Cats and The Prom did the same, too. West Side Story has already made the leap, and will do so again later this year. In the Heights also belongs on the list but, so far, Hamilton doesn't.
We're talking about stage-to-screen musical adaptations, of course. Obviously, the list goes on, and will continue to do so. If something is an song-fuelled hit in the theatre, it's highly likely to get the big-screen treatment at some point. The latest example: six-time Tony-winning smash Dear Evan Hansen.
Due to hit cinemas in September, and just dropping its first trailer, Dear Evan Hansen follows the titular anxious teen. He's advised by his therapist to pen letters to himself to highlight the good aspects of his day; however, when one of his notes ends up in a similarly lonely classmate's hands, it sparks a complex chain reaction.
Created for the stage by songwriting and composing duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — who nabbed an Oscar for La La Land's 'City of Stars' — with playwright Steven Levenson (Fosse/Verdon), the musical spins a story about high school struggles and suicide. If you don't know the full details, the film's trailer outlines the gist. Platt, who definitely isn't a teenager, nonetheless reprises his Tony-winning stage role as the eponymous character in the big-screen version, with Levenson also returning to write the script.
Also involved: a cast that spans Amy Adams (The Woman in the Window), Julianne Moore (Lisey's Story), Kaitlyn Dever (Unbelievable) and Amandla Stenberg (The Eddy), plus The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder filmmaker Stephen Chbosky.
Check out the trailer below:
Dear Evan Hansen is set to release in Australian cinemas on September 23.