Manuel here to bring some Hollywood-tinged stage-bound news to give us a brief respite from the fun that is Hollywood awards season.
Cindy Lauper and Kinky Boots, Elton John and Billy Elliot, Alan Menken and Sister Act, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Bring it On, Marc Shaiman and Catch Me if You Can. It seems as if Broadway is on a movie-adaptation streak, no? Movie based adaptations have won seven of the past fourteen Tony Awards for Best Musical! This season alone will see Honeymoon in Vegas (based on the 1992 film of the same name), musicals based on Oscar-winning films Dr Zhivago (which recently announced its star) and Gigi (for what it's worth, its pre-Broadway engagement stars Vanessa Hudgens), as well as Bull Durham. Down the line we’re still expecting First Wives Club, Amelie, American Psycho, The Bodyguard and Ever After to make it to New York in the near future. Time to add some other titles to that growing list.
Jessie Mueller, who just won a Tony award for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful is attached to a musical being developed based on Waitress, the 2007 Adrienne Shelly film starring Keri Russell about an unhappy diner server who makes delicious pies (and falls for dashing Nathan Fillion in the process). I loved that film, which features a great ensemble, and the show is being developed by Sarah Bareilles (below performing a lovely number from the musical starting at 2:20) so color me intrigued.
Speaking of Russell, another one of her films has been developed for the stage. August Rush is hoping for a Broadway-bound run. The production will be directed by John Doyle (whose minimalist Sweeney Todd was fantastic and rightly earned him a Tony Award for directing). The Academy Award nominated film (Best Original Song) starred Freddie Highmore as a talented orphan prodigy in search of his parents in New York City.
Another of Highmore’s films is coming to Broadway a bit sooner. Finding Neverland, begins performances March 15 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater and will open on April 15, after a rather high-profile casting change (those of us eager to see Jeremy Jordan return to the stage will have to wait as the role of Barrie will now be played by Broadway vet Matthew Morrison)
That said, the film-to-stage adaptation I’m most excited for is An American Paris, based on the Vincent Minnelli film of the same name. Anyone who’s seen the film knows this property is overdue for a stage adaptation (that eponymous Gene Kelly/Leslie Caron dance sequence is to die for!) so I’m eager to see how it works on stage. The show opens on Broadway in March 2015.
Any of these upcoming productions strike your fancy? Do you have a film you’re dying to see reimagined for the stage by a particular musician?