I’m in a very musical theatre mood, so I’ve been watching movie musicals and listening to countless cast recordings, including multiple recordings of the same show. It’s incredibly entertaining to watch and/or listen to multiple versions of the same show for the sake of comparison. It’s amazing how much the enjoyment of a show can fluctuate from something as small as a directorial change or cast swap. However, as I’ve been listening, I’ve been reminded of a larger change, one that seems odd but is actually very common in movie musicals: an added song. In most cases, movie musicals are shorter than their onstage counterparts, and more often than not at least one song from the stage gets cut. It seems odd, then, that there are often new songs in the movies. As a general rule, I’m skeptical of this. I understand additions if there are gaps in the existing material, but it’s harder to justify cutting a popular song for one that is untested (and particularly if the song was added purely as awards bait). It’s certainly true that some of these song swaps are unjustifiable mistakes but, to my surprise, I actually found a few that are not only welcome but actually wonderful.
Without further ado, here are ten movie musicals that, for better or for worse, tried something new.
“What Ifs” from Mean Girls
- Notable songs cut (or drastically shortened): “Where Do You Belong?”, “Meet the Plastics,” “Fearless,” “Stop,” “Whose House is This?,” “More is Better,” and “Do This Thing”
- Song swapped: “It Roars”
- Original songs written by Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond
- New songs written by Nell Benjamin, Jeff Richmond, Michael Pollack, and Reneé Rapp
Left: Movie Cady during “What Ifs.” Right: Onstage Cady and Damien during “Stop.”
For the record: I saw the show onstage long before I saw the movie, and went into the film knowing the original songs very well.
I was hyped when I heard about this movie. I like the original movie, but I LOVE the musical adaptation; I followed the production of Mean Girls closely and was excited by most of what I heard. In particular, the casting of Renée Rapp and Jaquel Spivey had me particularly enthusiastic: movie musicals don’t always hire bona fide Broadway vocal talents, and it struck me as a very good sign that this one had. Despite my interest, I didn’t make it to the theatre and therefore had time to read a bunch of online reviews (and get one from my sister) before I saw the show myself. I was warned that the songs have a different feel in the movie than onstage, so I was prepared for it. While Janis and Damien still get to have very theatrical sung moments, most of the other characters have their songs shifted subtly for a less overtly Broadway sound. Their songs are a little more pop-y, more tiktoky. This might be a controversial opinion but I was kind of into it. I absolutely missed the songs that were cut—Spivey is SO GOOD as Damien that cutting anything he would have sung feels like a mistake, and “More is Better” is thematically an important song, not to mention beautiful) but on the whole I really liked the movie. I had a great time with it and will happily watch it again.
With this new direction, “It Roars” doesn’t exactly fit Cady’s vibe… or her voice. It has been said before and often that actor Angourie Rice doesn’t have the vocal dynamism (or, in any case, wasn’t directed to showcase the vocal dynamism) for Cady’s more powerful songs. I’d argue that Janis and Regina are more the protagonists of Mean Girls the musical than Cady is (they have all the best songs! And Janis sings “I’d Rather Be Me,” which is arguably the big solo of the show, the type that would normally be reserved for the hero), but onstage Cady still has some big vocal moments. The movie removes them. Her verses of “Apex Predator” are given to Damien (it’s not the best thematic choice, but it sounds amazing so I’ve forgiven it), “More is Better” hit the wastebasket, both “Stupid with Love” and “Stars” are sung much smaller (except a verse that is sung by a different character), and “It Roars” is swapped for the much meeker “What Ifs.” It’s a cute enough song. It’s pretty, and it has a less theatrical, more popish sound that fits in with what the movie seems to be doing with Cady. The energy after “A Cautionary Tale” drops quickly being followed with “What Ifs,” in a way that I don’t like, but I don’t hate it. I can see movie!Janis singing “It Roars,” but movie!Cady doesn’t have that energy, and that song wouldn’t work with the soft, flat sound she maintains throughout the movie. If you asked me which song I prefer I would take “It Roars” every time, but I get what was intended with “What Ifs” and I wouldn’t call it a failure.
Verdict: A qualified miss
“Still Holding My Hand” from Matilda
- Notable songs cut: “Pathetic,” “This Little Girl,” “Loud,” “Telly”
- Song swapped: none directly
- Original songs written by Tim Minchin
- New song written by Tim Minchin
Left: The movie’s Miss Honey and Matilda during “Still Holding My Hand.” Right: Mr. Wormwood performing “Telly” onstage.
For full transparency: While I had listened to the original cast recording many times before seeing the movie adaptation, I have never seen the stage version of Matilda.
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