Mx. Chara Aznable (they/them) of Pnictogen on Nostr: Consequently there was an interval during which Broadway and the cinema attempted to ...

Consequently there was an interval during which Broadway and the cinema attempted to join forces, you could say: a hit Broadway musical would hope to be optioned by Hollywood promptly enough for the film to benefit from the publicity campaign drummed up for a massive "roadshow" style movie release, a limited release in which a big new movie would open in specific movie-houses on a scheduled itinerary of U.S. cities, like it was a concert tour, with merch for sale. For a while in the mid-20th century, the biggest cinematic sensations every year were likely to be adaptations of musicals.

Then there was a series of high-profile dud musical movies in the late 1960s and the fad died out. Very sad. But thanks to that method of publicizing the blockbuster movie-musical, signature showtunes like Trouble (right here in River City) had the opportunity to transcend their Broadway origins and become truly **memetic**.