This week we’ve already had reports of a Broadway show getting the big screen treatment – specifically, Bob Dylan jukebox musical Girl From The North Country. Now, keeping everything perfectly balanced (as all things should be), we’ve got news of a movie musical that’s getting ready to hit the stage. And that film is La La Land! Hang on… wait… wait… we’re getting word that it is in fact Moonlight! Only kidding, it actually is La La Land.
The stage adaptation of Damien Chazelle’s six-time Oscar-winning global smash – about an aspiring actress and jazz musician chasing their dreams and falling in love in Los Angeles – is set to be helmed by a veritable City Of Stars. Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher will steer the show, based on a book written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar and three-time Barrymore Award winner Matthew Decker. The film’s original Oscar-winning composer Justin Hurwitz will be returning to provide the music, as will its Oscar- and Tony-winning lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
“I’m thrilled to reunite with Lionsgate and the incredible team behind La La Land to adapt the movie for the Broadway stage, the next exciting chapter in its evolution,” said the film and show’s producer Marc Platt when announcing the musical. “We’ve assembled a world-class team to create a musical that will delight La La Land’s millions of current fans and introduce the property to a whole new audience.”
Maybe if all goes well when La La Land eventually hits Broadway, it could be the first of a slew of Chazelle stage shows. Whiplash at the National Theatre! First Man on ice! Babylon! Now that would be an immersive theatre experience you wouldn’t forget in a hurry. Bagsy not being front row when the elephant appears!