Every morning I stare into the eyes of Duncan from Blue.
Everywhere I look on my way to work he's on posters, doing that pout/frown thing that he thinks makes him look sexy (let's call it...ahem...'Blue' Steel.)
You see dishy Dunc is now starring in the West End musical version of
Legally Blonde, the early Noughties dumbass-goes-to-law-school movie that made a name of Reese Witherspoon (he's not Reese, obv - that's
Two Pints Of Lager star Sheridan Smith. Dunc's the dull Luke Wilson role). And it's the latest in a line of films-turned-into-stage-shows that seem to be taking over the theatrical world.
How did happen? Well, we can certainly thank 2001's Moulin Rouge! for reminding showbiz money men that movies musicals can be savvy, cheeky, gloriously jokey - and still make cash. Simultaneously on Broadway, The Producers (based on a 60s movie classic about bad musicals) was also sticking bums on seats big time, as well as weighing down the mantelpieces of stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick with Tony Awards. If a movie was campy in the first place, turning it into a knowing, jazz hands singalong became the obvious next step.
Successes have been plentiful -
The Lion King has now been open in London for over 10 years,
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert,
Spamalot (based on Monty Python films),
Dirty Dancing,
Hairspray - but there have been flops too.
Cry Baby was the brilliant Johnny Depp-starring follow-up to the 80s cinema version of Hairspray. But turned into a Broadway musical it just didn't cut it in the way that its predecessor had. Hint: you want success? Get a man to dress up as a fat woman.
You see it's all about familiarity. Coach parties and tourists don't want to pay London theatre prices for a risk. They want a premise or songs that they know. Hence why that other showbiz moneyspinner - the Mamma Mia-style musical featuring a band's old tunes - is the other stage sensation of recent years.
And let's be honest, showbusiness has always been incestuous. All parts of the media look for successes to latch onto and they always will. It's as close to a guarantee of profit as you'll get. For as long as Hollywood is making money out of musicals, musicals will be making money out of Hollywood. Hence the upcoming Bono/The Edge singing version of
Spiderman called
Turn Out The Lights, slated for Broadway this year. Altogether now... 'With great power comes great responsi-bi-li-ty...la la la...'
All of which frequently results in amazing tunes - Hairspray's 'You Can't Stop The Beat' is the 3rd most played on my generic MP3 player. More importantly, it makes a few people very rich. And as the old phrase goes 'Money Makes The World Go 'Round' - which any budding Justin from Ugly Betty will know is a line from the iconic book-turned-play-turned-musical-turned-movie, Cabaret.
As someone who believes that musicals are the purest form of entertainment known to man (other than cheerleading), I'm a happy bunny. For a few hours, they make the world a better place. As Glee's Mr Schuester so rightly says: 'If you can sing and dance in front of people, you can do anything'.
