Broadway in Film

Madonna in Dick Tracy

Madonna singing Sondheim songs in a popular movie is an example of Broadway coming into the mainstream. As the intended audience for Broadway shows gets more and more "sophisticated," less and less people are coming. As a result, songwriters and lyricists need to expand into movies and television in order to make a living. Sondheim did so flawlessly in the recent film Dick Tracy. It also didn't hurt his popularity that he had such a huge star (Madonna) singing his songs.