Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "backstage-drama"
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51. A Mighty Wind (2003)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy, Music
Mockumentary captures the reunion of 1960s folk trio the Folksmen as they prepare for a show at The Town Hall to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.
Director: Christopher Guest | Stars: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer
Votes: 29,581 | Gross: $17.51M
52. The High Note (2020)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A superstar singer and her overworked personal assistant are presented with a choice that could alter the course of their respective careers.
Director: Nisha Ganatra | Stars: Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Bill Pullman
Votes: 13,486
53. The Immigrant (2013)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
In 1921, an innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, Dagmara Dominczyk
Votes: 33,852 | Gross: $2.01M
54. Noises Off... (1992)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy
A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty
Votes: 12,290 | Gross: $2.28M
55. Me and Orson Welles (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar", directed by a young Orson Welles.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Zoe Kazan
Votes: 11,835 | Gross: $1.19M
56. The Rose (1979)
R | 125 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 9,271 | Gross: $29.20M
57. Children of Paradise (1945)
Not Rated | 189 min | Drama, Romance
The theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan in 1830s Paris and the four men who love her.
Director: Marcel Carné | Stars: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir
Votes: 21,240
58. Gypsy (1962)
Approved | 143 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Based on the Broadway hit about the life and times of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee and her aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace
Votes: 7,038 | Gross: $13.01M
59. Fame (2009)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
An updated version of the musical Fame (1980), which centered on the students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The name of the school in 1980 was Fiorello Laguardia High School.
Director: Kevin Tancharoen | Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally, Kay Panabaker
Votes: 16,945 | Gross: $22.46M
60. King Creole (1958)
PG | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
A troubled youth's singing sets New Orleans rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it seems he will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster and his man-trap moll snare him in a life of crime?
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart
Votes: 6,453
61. Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Passed | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An ex-husband and wife team star in a musical version of 'The Taming of the Shrew'; off-stage, the production is troublesome with ex-lovers' quarrels and two gangsters looking for some money owed to them.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 6,835 | Gross: $4.38M
62. Dance Academy (2010–2013)
TV-PG | 24 min | Drama, Family, Music
Fifteen-year-old Tara Webster's dream of dancing comes true when she gets into a top dance academy. She soon realizes dancing is only half the battle.
Stars: Xenia Goodwin, Alicia Banit, Dena Kaplan, Jordan Rodrigues
Votes: 5,086
63. Can't Stop the Music (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical
A pseudo autobiography of disco's The Village People.
Director: Nancy Walker | Stars: Ray Simpson, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Randy Jones
Votes: 4,508 | Gross: $2.00M
64. The Boy Friend (1971)
G | 137 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
When the leading lady of a low-budget musical revue sprains her ankle, the assistant stage manager is forced to understudy and perform in her place, becoming a star and finding love in the process.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Max Adrian, Bryan Pringle
Votes: 3,611
65. Opening Night (1977)
PG-13 | 144 min | Drama
A renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell
Votes: 12,269
66. My Favorite Year (1982)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
An aging, dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show in 1954, and a young comedy writer is tasked with the thankless job of keeping him ready and sober for the broadcast.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna
Votes: 10,566 | Gross: $20.12M
67. Radio Days (1987)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
A nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Mike Starr, Paul Herman
Votes: 36,426 | Gross: $14.79M
68. The Country Girl (1954)
Unrated | 104 min | Drama, Music
A director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross
Votes: 6,693
69. Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
R | 123 min | Drama, Mystery
A non-glamorous portrayal of the lives of people who make their living at a strip club.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: Charlotte Ayanna, Daryl Hannah, Kristin Bauer, W. Earl Brown
Votes: 4,144 | Gross: $0.03M
70. A Night at the Opera (1935)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
Directors: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding | Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle
Votes: 34,834 | Gross: $2.54M
71. Limelight (1952)
G | 137 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A fading comedian and a suicidally despondent ballet dancer must look to each other to find purpose and hope in their lives.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton
Votes: 22,207 | Gross: $1.00M
72. A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly
Votes: 23,653 | Gross: $20.34M
73. The Band Wagon (1953)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray
Votes: 12,613
74. Stardust (II) (2020)
Unrated | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Chronicles the young David Bowie's first visit to the US in 1971 - a trip that inspired the invention of his iconic alter ego Ziggy Stardust.
Director: Gabriel Range | Stars: Johnny Flynn, Marc Maron, Jena Malone, Derek Moran
Votes: 2,306
75. Stage Door (1937)
Approved | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the ambitions, dreams, and disappointments of aspiring actresses who all live in the same boarding house.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick
Votes: 9,048
76. Talk Radio (1988)
R | 110 min | Drama, Thriller
A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley
Votes: 14,654 | Gross: $3.47M
77. The Sapphires (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1968, four talented young Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship, and war when their all-girl group The Sapphires entertains the US troops in Vietnam.
Director: Wayne Blair | Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens
Votes: 15,195 | Gross: $2.45M
78. Stage Fright (1950)
Approved | 110 min | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Richard Todd, Michael Wilding
Votes: 16,220
79. Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
PG | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
A cynical Buffalo Bill hires Sitting Bull to exploit him and add his credibility to the distorted view of history presented in his Wild West Show.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Paul Newman, Joel Grey, Kevin McCarthy, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 5,313
80. Backbeat (1994)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell
Votes: 6,600 | Gross: $2.39M
81. Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
PG | 84 min | Comedy
In his attempts to reconcile a lounge singer with his mistress, a hapless talent agent is mistaken as her lover by a jealous gangster.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron
Votes: 26,997 | Gross: $10.60M
82. Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Laura Henderson (Dame Judi Dench) buys an old London theater and opens it up as the Windmill, a performance hall which goes down in history for, amongst other things, its all-nude revues.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Guest, Will Young
Votes: 16,468 | Gross: $11.03M
83. The Dresser (1983)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Personal assistant Norman struggles to get deteriorating veteran actor Sir through a difficult performance of King Lear.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Zena Walker
Votes: 5,726 | Gross: $5.31M
84. All About Eve (2019)
148 min | Drama
Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing and tells Margo and her friends a melancholy life story. Margo takes Eve under her wing, only to have Eve use her and connive against her.
Directors: Ivo van Hove, Nick Wickham | Stars: Lily James, Gillian Anderson, Julian Ovenden, Monica Dolan
Votes: 566
85. To Be or Not to Be (1983)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, War
At the onset of WW2, a Polish actor's family and the Polish Resistance help the troupe of a theatre escape Poland and the invading Nazis.
Director: Alan Johnson | Stars: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Ronny Graham, Estelle Reiner
Votes: 12,056 | Gross: $13.03M
86. An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Set right after World War II, a naive teenage girl joins a shabby theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of Peter Pan, the play quickly turns into a dark metaphor for youth... See full summary »
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Georgina Cates, Alun Armstrong
Votes: 3,030 | Gross: $0.26M
87. Rendez-vous (1985)
82 min | Drama, Romance
Dreaming of an actress future, a young girl arrives in Paris. Her personality awakens a glowing passion of several different men.
Director: André Téchiné | Stars: Lambert Wilson, Juliette Binoche, Wadeck Stanczak, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Votes: 3,066
88. The Song Remains the Same (1976)
PG | 137 min | Documentary, Music
The line forms here for the world's greatest and possibly most influential band--Led Zeppelin. This mesmerizing movie built around Zep's famed 1973 concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden is convincing proof why.
Directors: Peter Clifton, Joe Massot | Stars: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham
Votes: 9,054
89. The Company (2003)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young ballet dancer is poised to become the principal performer in a group of ballet dancers.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Neve Campbell, James Franco, Malcolm McDowell, Barbara E. Robertson
Votes: 6,849 | Gross: $2.28M
90. Being Julia (2004)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Set in 1930s London, this movie involves stage actors and actresses and their experiences with love and revenge.
Director: István Szabó | Stars: Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Maury Chaykin, Jeremy Irons
Votes: 12,940 | Gross: $7.74M
91. Salome's Last Dance (1988)
R | 89 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
On Guy Fawkes Day 1892m Oscar Wilde goes to a performance of his controversial, banned play 'Salome'. The 'theatre' is a brothel and the performers are prostitutes.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Glenda Jackson, Stratford Johns, Nickolas Grace, Douglas Hodge
Votes: 1,918 | Gross: $0.33M
92. Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary following singer Madonna on her controversial Blond Ambition tour in 1990.
Director: Alek Keshishian | Stars: Madonna, Donna DeLory, Niki Haris, Luis Camacho
Votes: 10,063 | Gross: $15.01M
93. Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
Passed | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Keith
Votes: 4,761
94. Radioland Murders (1994)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A series of mysterious crimes threatens the existence of a new radio network.
Director: Mel Smith | Stars: Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, Ned Beatty, George Burns
Votes: 3,920 | Gross: $1.30M
95. The Humbling (2014)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A stage actor who is slowly losing his mind engages in a relationship with a sexually confused younger woman.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Al Pacino, Greta Gerwig, Nina Arianda, Charles Grodin
Votes: 7,208
96. The Broadway Melody (1929)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Eddie Kane
Votes: 8,039 | Gross: $6.12M
97. Summer Stock (1950)
Approved | 108 min | Musical, Romance
A small-town farmer, down on her luck, finds her homestead invaded by a theatrical troupe invited to stay by her ne'er-do-well sister.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven
Votes: 4,826
98. Shadows and Fog (1991)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy
With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Michael Kirby, David Ogden Stiers
Votes: 18,169 | Gross: $2.74M
99. The Dresser (2015 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 105 min | Drama
A drama, based on a successful play, about an aging actor (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and his personal assistant (Sir Ian McKellen).
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire
Votes: 3,771
100. Isadora (1968)
M/PG | 131 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A biography of the 1920s dancer Isadora Duncan, who forever changed people's ideas of ballet. Her nude, semi-nude, and pro-Soviet dance projects as well as her attitude and lifestyle shocked the public of her time.
Director: Karel Reisz | Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, James Fox, Jason Robards, John Fraser
Votes: 2,625