The City of Stars is heading to the Great White Way.
The Oscar-winning musical “La La Land” is being adapted as a stage show, with plans to open on Broadway at an undetermined date.
The 2016 movie, featuring original songs like “City of Stars,” “Another Day of Sun” and “Audition (Fools Who Dream),” starred Emma Stone as an aspiring actor and Ryan Gosling as a jazz musician as they pursue their dreams in Los Angeles. The Broadway cast has yet to be announced.
Bartlett Sher (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Fiddler on the Roof”) is directing the stage adaptation based on a book written by playwrights Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker. Like the feature film, the show will feature music by Justin Hurwitz and lyrics by composing team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
“La La Land” won several Academy Awards, including best director for Damien Chazelle and best actress for Stone. In one of the most famous moments in Oscars history, the movie was incorrectly announced as best picture before the prize was bestowed to the actual winner, “Moonlight.” In addition to awards attention, “La La Land” became a box office winner, grossing $151 million in North America and $472 million worldwide.
“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 Marc Platt, who produced the film. “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.”
This isn’t the first time that “La La Land” is expanding beyond the screen. A concert version of the film has been touring around the world since 2017.
“With ‘La La Land in Concert’ marking its sixth year of touring worldwide and the original film a timeless and globally revered cultural touchstone, we’re excited to provide fans yet another way to experience the original movie,” said Jenefer Brown, Lionsgate’s executive VP and head of global products and experiences.
The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Brown, executive VP of business and legal affairs, as well as Eva Feder and Stefan Schick at Loeb & Loeb.
From Variety US