Movie musicals to stream if you’re in the mood to groove
Jon M. Chu’s big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical “In the Heights” is on its way to theaters and HBO Max, entering a grand pantheon of the movie musical. The film is as inspired by the culture of Washington Heights, Manhattan, as it is by the great movie musicals of yore. So if “In the Heights” puts you in a musical mood, here are several other streaming movie musicals to get you moving and grooving.
Start with Miranda’s award-winning musical “Hamilton” for more of his signature sound. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the Founding Fathers was filmed in 2015 and released on Disney+ last summer.
Be sure to also watch the spiritual predecessor of “In the Heights,” the 1961 movie musical “West Side Story,” directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. This Romeo and Juliet tale is set against gang warfare in New York, and giving it a rewatch now will also serve as preparation for Steven Spielberg’s remake, due out later this year. Stream it on Amazon Prime.
There are sequences in “In the Heights” visually inspired by the iconic choreographer and director Busby Berkeley, who created kaleidoscopic visions of dancing bodies in the earliest Hollywood musicals. Some of his best work is available on HBO Max, including the 1933 films “42nd Street” and “Gold Diggers of 1933.” “Footlight Parade” is available for a $1.99 rental on Amazon Prime and iTunes.
For more New York City-set musicals, stream the classic “On the Town,” a 1949 Technicolor film starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munchin as a trio of sailors on leave in New York City for 24 hours. Kelly himself choreographed and codirected the musical with Stanley Donen, and it was shot both on location in New York City and in the studio. Rent it for $1.99 on
Amazon Prime or iTunes.
The 1980 movie musical “Fame” follows a set of young dreamers in New York City: a group of talented students at a performing arts high school. The film spawned the Oscar-winning hit song “Fame,” performed by Irene Cara, and cemented its place in the canon of musical classics. Rent it for $2.99 Amazon Prime or iTunes.
“In the Heights” co-star Daphne Rubin-Vega was previously best known for originating the role of Mimi in “Rent.” While she doesn’t reprise the role in the 2005 movie version of “Rent” (Rosario Dawson replaced her), it’s still an iconic New York City musical. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
One of the best movie musicals and best movies ever made — the 1952 classic about making movie musicals — “Singin’ in the Rain” is streaming on HBO Max and always worthy of a rewatch. There’s nothing Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor can’t fix.