Manuel here still recovering for a wonderful Pride weekend which I'm greedily extending for two more days with Bette Midler tonight and Fun Home tomorrow. Needless to say, movies and musicals, and movie musicals are on my mind. Thankfully, Amy Heckerling is here to tide me over, stoking Clueless fandom by letting us know she's finished writing the book for a stage musical adaptation of her 1995 film (though dampening the excitement a bit by confessing it's a jukebox musical to be directed by Kristin Hanggi, of Rock of Ages fame). And so, since she acknowledged casting would be a big hurdle before we see "As if!" being uttered on stage, I thought we could help her out brainstorming names for the central three performances.
Cher, originally played by Alicia Silverstone.
Sweet yet tart, ditzy yet savvy. Gonna be a hard role to cast, but Kerry Butler and Laura Bell-Bundy have proven it's not impossible to originate roles on Broadway that belong to iconic performances on screen.
Tai, originally played by Brittany Murphy.
Equally able to sell "Rolling with the homies" and various pratfalls, whoever plays Tai must be the heart of the show.
Dionne, originally played by Stacey Dash.
Definitely the Michelle to Cher's Beyoncé one hopes they'll beef up her role and somehow give her a Keeping it Real-type duet with Murray.
Other roles to cast:
Josh, originally played by ageless Paul Rudd.
Murray, originally played by Donald Faison.
Mr Hall & Miss Geist, originally played by Wallace Shawn & Twink Caplan.
Elton, originally played by Jeremy Sisto.
Christian, originally played by Justin Walker.
I know there are several theater lovers out there; who would you cast for this upcoming stage adaptation? And are you, like me, infinitely more excited about the chance to see these outfits on stage?