Weinsteins’ Join The Movies To Broadway Caravan

The road between movies and Broadway used to be a one way street, running from the Great White Way directly to the Silver Screen.

But the success of musical theater adaptations movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Hairspray and The Producers has increased the flow of traffic in both directions. Now, The Weinstein Company is pulling on that highway with musicals based on some of their film catalog.

Variety is reporting that The Weinstein Company, who were longtime co-producers and investors on Broadway shows (including film to stage veterans The Producers and Young Frankenstein), will be taking the lead producer role on a number of film projects they will be adapting for the stage.

First up is a musical based on Finding Neverland, the 2004 movie starring Johnny Depp. They are eyeing a 2010 release for the stage production.

Another project in the pipeline is a Broadway adaptation of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, with Roger Waters set to lend a hand in bringing his band’s cult album to Broadway life.

Other films mentioned as Broadway fodder in the article are Shakespeare in Love, Chocolat, Cinema Paradiso, and Shall We Dance.

This is a risky proposition for the Weinsteins. Because for every Lion King there is a Tarzan, for every Hairspray there is a Cry-Baby, and for every The Producers there is a Young Frankenstein.