THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT Musical Under Development

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 11:57am

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Under Development As Stage Musical – Deadline

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 12:01pm

You beat me to it :)

Copying and pasting what I wrote in the other thread: 

Sure, why not? I liked the show. It has the potential to make a good musical I guess, but I could also see it being totally stale and boring. Without any artists attached, it's hard to get too excited about it yet. Like many musicals based on books/TV shows, they will have to work to condense it down to a reasonable length, without making it feel totally crammed-in. But in the right hands, it can work.

I could see Jeanine Tesori doing a good job with this. Who would be a good Beth? Cristin Milioti? Adina Verson? Phillipa Soo? 

Is this the first commissioned work from this production group? Not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign, though I'm hesitant about commissioned musicals in general. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 6:46pm

I mean the last musical based on chess wasn’t a ... huge hit..

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 8:43pm

Dave Malloy. That is all.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 9:43pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "Dave Malloy. That is all."

Oh yes indeed! 

[copskid949]

Posted: 3/8/21 at 10:16pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "Dave Malloy. That is all."

While I was watching the show one of the Russians reminded me a lot of Malloy so honestly I’m all for it.

 

plus the dude knows Russia damn well so likeeeeee

I guess my only real concern is that Beth Harmon seems like she doesn’t quite sing. She’s such a strong and fascinating character but the only time I really get “I’m gonna belt my face off” vibes from her is when she becomes this emancipated woman midway through. She’s just so in her head all the time, I have to wonder how that will translate.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 12:52am

Who’s asking for this, exactly?

[singer234]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 8:31am

Depending on how the score is written, I think this could be the role of a lifetime for Jenn Damiano. She has that distant, melancholy, aloof aura to her that just radiates the vibe of this world and Beth’s quiet complexity, imo. I would love to see her rise to the challenge as Beth.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 9:20am

singer234 said: "Depending on how the score is written, I think this could be the role of a lifetime for Jenn Damiano. She has that distant, melancholy, aloof aura to her that just radiates the vibe of this world and Beth’s quiet complexity, imo. I would love to see her rise to the challenge as Beth."


Ooh yes!! I hadn’t thought of her, but you’re absolutely right. And I especially love the way you worded that. Her voice does have that plaintive, melancholic quality that would be perfect for the character of Beth. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 9:35am

You guys are delicious how you’re investing your time on this. This’ll go the same route as the DOWNTON ABBEY musical adaptation announced in 2015. Hahaha.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 10:23am

BrodyFosse123 said: "You guys are delicious how you’re investing your time on this. This’ll go the same route as the DOWNTON ABBEY musical adaptation announced in 2015. Hahaha."

I could be wrong about this, but I feel like the batting average for these things has gone up in recent years. It feels like we've seen pretty consistent follow-through on announcements like this, to the point where MOST announced projects actually get produced nowadays (whether they transfer to Broadway from out-of-town is a different question - but even then it feels like so many of them do). And sure, you always have your Downton Abbeys and such, and maybe this will be the same. But if those cases are the minority, we have no reason to assume offhand that this won't happen.

And in any case, it doesn't really matter for the purposes of this thread, because there's no harm in throwing out ideas just for fun. This board sees plenty of dream-casting threads even for totally fictional projects - this is basically the same, except it's slightly more real. But either way, the early speculation is just for fun. As my first post indicated, I'm not actually all that invested or even enthusiastic about this.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 11:00am

Whenever I see a press release announcing that something has been optioned for the stage, I can pretty much guarantee you one of two things: it's a first time producer or it's Ken Davenport. In this case the former. Seems like a strange thing to do a press announcement for at this stage. There's no production planned or even authors or a creative team attached. Makes me think it is more about the producer's ego. I imagine most Broadway producers are optioning things regularly but not announcing them publicly until there is some momentum behind them.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 11:06am

A producer merely acquiring the rights to something shouldn't merit headlines. Especially when no creatives are even attached.

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 4:11pm

JBroadway said: "singer234 said: "Depending on how the score is written, I think this could be the role of a lifetime for Jenn Damiano. She has that distant, melancholy, aloof aura to her that just radiates the vibe of this world and Beth’s quiet complexity, imo. I would love to see her rise to the challenge as Beth."


Ooh yes!! I hadn’t thought of her, but you’re absolutely right. And I especially love the way you worded that. Her voice does have that plaintive, melancholicquality that would be perfect for the character of Beth."

Beth Harmon is a teenager for most of The Queen's Gambit. I'm not certain she even reaches the age of 21 in the series. The internet has much speculation putting her age at the end somewhere between 19 and 22. By this time reaches the stage, Damiano is already 29. Of course, that didn't stop Frozen from casting actors well above Anna and Elsa's ages.

In any event, this musical doesn't even sound like it is being developed as yet. No creatives have been announced. And since it is a story where there is very little action - and a lead who is passive for much of the story (even more passive than Louise in Act One of Gypsy). it will take some very creative directors/writers. How many "feeling sorry for myself"/"no one loves me, so I won't rely on anybody" ballads/songs can there be in one show?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/9/21 at 4:54pm

By the time this reaches the stage Mattea Conforti or Brooklyn
Shuck will probably be age appropriate for Beth. Either of them would be great!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/11/21 at 11:26am

Like the Jennifer Damiano idea.  And the Dave Malloy one. 

As far as the material and Beth not  "singing," maybe not in traditional musical terms, but in modern operatic ones (thinking Britton or Glass), it could be great. 

A larger challenge will be to live up with the series' impeccable variety; each match was shot so differently and each - shockingly - brought it!  On stage, it's possible they could accomplish a similar feat; but it will be a tough act to follow.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/11/21 at 12:03pm

henrikegerman said: "A larger challenge will be to live up with the series' impeccable variety; each match was shot so differently and each - shockingly - brought it! On stage, it's possible they could accomplish a similar feat; but it will be a tough act to follow."

I hope they use theatricality vs realism. I can see it easily being very real with just two actors at a table on stage or even adding an overhead camera to project the pieces moving, but I'd rather they went with something like each match is a new dance-- sizing up the opponent, going along with their moves, etc. Not that that's the only solution but I think most modern directors think too much in realism, even in musicals. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 11/15/23 at 4:29pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mitski-Eboni-Booth-and-Whitney-White-Join-THE-QUEENS-GAMBIT-Broadway-Creative-Team-20231115

 

The creative team has been revealed for the musical adaptation of The Queen's Gambit, Walter Tevis’ best-selling novel which became a record-breaking streaming sensation on Netflix. Internationally acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Mitski will write the music & lyrics, playwright Eboni Booth (Primary Trust, Paris) will write the book of the musical, and Obie Award-winner Whitney White (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, On Sugarland) will direct.  Joining Tony & Anthem Award-winning mini-studio Level Forward (POTUS, How to Dance in Ohio) on the producing team are Tony Award-winning actress and advocate Adrienne Warren (Tina), Prince Fellowship recipient Lawryn LaCroix (POTUS, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & The Pool), and Tony Award-winning producer Mara Isaacs (Hadestown).

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 11/15/23 at 8:34pm

Well, we've established the producing team reads the forum. Hi, folks, thanks for the prompt response to our skepticism!

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 11/15/23 at 8:47pm

They should just repurpose the Benny/Bjorn Tim Rice score with new lyrics

[Lot666]

Posted: 11/16/23 at 8:38am

SouthernCakes said: "I mean the last musical based on chess wasn’t a ... huge hit.."

That was my first thought.