This week at Geek Girl Soup, the play’s the thing. We’re discussing movies that are based on musicals or plays: “West Side Story,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” and “The Humans.”

What can we say about “West Side Story” (the new one on Disney+)? I mean, you’ve probably seen it. And you’ve probably seen the original, too. But this is a podcast, so we do find plenty to say about it—and not just a few tangents, too! (Everyone should be able to wear a wig!)  Even if you don’t love musicals, you have to admit that Stephen Sondheim’s songs are fabulous. We even have our own versions of “I Feel Pretty.” We just adore Ariana DeBose as Anita. She’s up for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She already won the BAFTA and Golden Globe this year. Crossing our fingers….

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” (Apple TV+) is an absolutely stunning version of Cort’s favorite work by Shakespeare. Kathryn Hunter mesmerizes as the witches. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are truly epic as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel is gorgeous. (We do talk about Bruno—or at least this Bruno’s work.) And Joel Coen’s directing…. Just go watch it if you haven’t already.

“The Humans” (SHO) is written and directed by Stephen Karam, who is also the playwright. Starring Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, and Steven Yeun, “The Humans” takes place over the course of an evening when three generations of a family gather in a near-empty Manhattan apartment for Thanksgiving. The film is bold, at times creepy, and beautifully-shot. The final shot, you just want it to go on and on.

For extra credit, we watched “Inherit the Wind,” the original “West Side Story,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Next week, the only homework is to watch every single Oscar-nominated film. Good thing we’ve been doing that for a while now!

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Follow Cort’s podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd https://letterboxd.com/barbisu/stats/

Listen to Kelly’s podcast at Brand + Design Scoop

Original music by Garrett Thompson

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