Performing on stage is one of the oldest forms of entertainment. The artistry needed to create for a stage, viewed by a live audience, has been evolving for thousands of years, and only within the past century or so have these works found themselves becoming movies.
A few have turned out to be fantastic, award-winning movies that are well worth your time, especially if you don't live in New York where Broadway is where most big name productions and star actors often take the stage. Here are our picks for the best modern play adaptations.
'Rabbit Hole' (2010)
Based on "Rabbit Hole" (2006) by David Lindsay-Abaire.
This is a tragic and pretty brutal depiction of a marriage that's falling apart after a couple's child dies in a car accident. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are masterful, and it may take you a few pauses that to stomach the heaviness in this story, which also happens to be Miles Teller's first movie.
'One Night In Miami' (2020)
Based on "One Night in Miami" (2013) by Kemp Powers.
Regina King picked a hell of a play to be the bedrock of her directorial debut. This fictional account of a real life event has four famous Americans all hanging out at pivotal points in their lives. In particular, Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke and Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X shine so bright, they basically cemented their stardom on screen.
'Fences' (2016)
Based on "Fences" (1985) by August Wilson.
It's hard to top James Earl Jones and Courtney B. Vance in two of the most famous stage performances ever, but if you're going to adapt this legendary play into a movie, you might as well get the another set of great performer, namely Viola Davis and Denzel Washington. There's not much to see in terms of flashy filmmaking, but you could teach an entire class on acting based off of this film.
'Doubt' (2008)
Based on "Doubt, A Parable" (2004) by John Patrick Shanley.
Hey, it's Viola Davis again! And two more GOATs: Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who play a Bronx nun and priest, respectively, that teach at a parish school. When an accusation about sexual misconduct pops up, doubt divides the school and staff about the truth and everyone's commitment to serving their Catholic god. In the original Broadway run, Cherry Jones played Sister Aloysius, and in the new Broadway revival, it's Amy Ryan in that role alongside Liev Schriber and Zoe Kazan (all of whom are fantastic).
'Glengarry Glen Ross' (1992)
Based on "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1984) by David Mamet.
This play about a salesmen in an office has been parodied and revived to death. It's been flipped on its head, performed with an all women cast, been edited for racial slurs, and is a very well known story that you can manipulate in a number of ways. The original run had Joe Mantegna and J.T. Walsh, and the movie version adds in a scene with Alec Baldwin to yell at several Oscar winners (Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon). It's a short and hard-hitting watch that oozes male toxicity and desperate corporate greed at its worst.
'A Few Good Men' (1992)
Based on "A Few Good Men" (1989) by Aaron Sorkin.
We all know this movie backwards and forwards. The code red, the court martial, the base, Santiago, "you can't handle the truth," Tom Cruise with the baseball, Demi Moore's pencil skirts, Kevin Pollack and Kevin Bacon going back and forth. It's iconic, classic, endlessly rewatchable and quotable, and just an all-time screenplay from Aaron Sorkin before he ventured into the world of television. Don't forget Rob Reiner directed this.
Some older films based on plays for your consideration: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), "Amadeus" (1984), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1984), "12 Angry Men" (1957), "Casablanca" (1942)