Five music business tales told onstage, at the movies, or both

Here are some music business tales that have been told onstage or at the movies, or both.

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“Dreamgirls� (1981 stage musical by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, 2006 film by Bill Condon) — A 1960s soul music group patterned after the Supremes rises to stardom, but clashing egos and ambitions get in the way, until a conciliatory finale. Moral: talent and determination will win in the end, and in spite of everything, old ties can endure. But does the ghost of Florence Ballard agree?

“Nashville� (1975 film by Robert Altman) — Completely separate from the current TV series of the same name, it takes a panoramic and sardonic look at the competition for fame and staying power in the capital of country music. Like “Cabaret,� the stakes are raised by setting the entertainment story against a backdrop of tense social and political change. Moral: no matter what happens, for every star who gets shot down, a new one rises to keep us singing along.

“Once� (2007 film by John Carney with songs by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; 2011 stage musical adapted by Enda Walsh) — A bittersweet fairytale in which an aspiring Irish singer-songwriter who’s falling slowly into despair and a future in vacuum cleaner repair has his faith in his talent revived (but his romantic ardor rebuffed) by an attractive but unavailable musical soulmate who becomes his muse and fairy godmother. Moral: do give up your day job, but only if you find a fairy godmother to send you on your way.

“Pink Floyd — The Wall� (1982 film by Alan Parker, based on 1979 record album by Pink Floyd) — As a big arena gig awaits, a rock star falls into nightmarish fantasies and psychic collapse brought on by childhood traumas and adult pressures. Moral: our stars can be even more messed up than ourselves.

“The Rose� (1979 film by Mark Rydell) — The endgame of a Janis Joplin-like singer who can’t get past the drugs and booze, the wounds of past humiliations, and a manager who’s milking her while she lasts. She dies operatically on stage in front of the hometown folks who had scorned her back when. Moral: you can go home again, but maybe you’d better not.

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