La La Land

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 6:15am

Deux Moi says it’s coming to Broadway and will be announced today or tomorrow. Anyone have info?

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 6:38am

Hmmm, have we heard anything about this before?

I would be pretty surprised if there is an announcement about a completed La La Land musical that has secretly been in development and is ready to open on broadway next season. 

I would be a LOT less surprised if the announcement is actually "Broadway-aimed La La Land stage musical in development" 

Supposing that I haven't just missed rumors about its development, I think it's unlikely that there is a developed musical ready for Broadway. I think it is possible that someone is interested in developing it and there will be some sort of announcement about that. 

Updated On: 2/7/23 at 06:38 AM

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 7:58am

There have been some rumors about it for a while (maybe about a year ago it was said they were working on it and I think prior to the pandemic Justin Hurwitz said the same). I agree it's more likely this is another announcement of it being in development (or maybe ready for a workshop or something like that). But I suppose it's possible they've been working on it more than we all realized.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 8:06am

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone mistook this for The Greatest Showman musical announcement considering Pasek and Paul. At least we’ve heard more rumblings of that. But also, in the heat of Awards Season and Babylon press (even with as little nominations as the film received) this might be a smart strategy towards reminding people of Hurwitz’s work on both films enough to vote for him to win Best Score for Babylon. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 8:08am

Here’s the 2017 article about a potential stage show: https://www.wmagazine.com/story/la-la-land-live-stage-show-news

[east side story]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 9:12am

These blind items are submitted by anyone with an Instagram account.  The bigger the Deux Moi brand has gotten over the course of the pandemic, the more noticeably unreliable the intel has become.

Be that as it may: This could be happening, but who is interested?  This was a film we were all supposed to adore and care deeply about a few years ago, and since the Oscar debacle, this IP has been pretty sleepy.

[bdn223]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 11:27am

But also isn't New York, New York supposed to have very similar vibes to La La Land? I haven't seen the New York New York, but reading the film's plot summary, the films and their likely stage adaptations are extremely similar.  Why not wait 3-4 months until we find out if New York New York, is any good or a hit before announcing this? Its not like people are clamoring for a stage adaption of La La Land right now that if its not done in the next couple years audiences will have moved on from the property. Its not an Almost Famous, that while 5-10 years ago would of likely been a critic proof hit based on brand recognition alone, its cultural relevancy as Baby Boomer/early Gen X coming of age story, has taken a significant nose dive as Millennials and Gen Z become the target demo for Broadway shows. 

I know Pasek and Paul are still career recovery mode after the disaster that was the film adaption of Dear Evan Hansen, but I don't know if La La Land is their ticket to become critical darlings again. If anything of their already existing catalog, Greatest Showman likely has the highest demand, but as that stage adaptation was developed in house by Fox before the Disney acquisition, that's likely now tied up in Disney Theatricals long term plans.  In my opinion though Hit List would be the most interesting, but also could make the most buzz especially if they are able to beat the Marylin/Smash musical to Broadway. 

[JanMaxwellsBag]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:06pm

Deadline is reporting on it.

The show, based on the Damien Chazelle-directed movie, will be helmed by Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning director Bartlett Sher based on a book written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar and three-time Barrymore Award winner Matthew Decker. The stage adaptation will feature music by the film’s composer and two-time Academy Award winner Justin Hurwitz and lyrics by the Oscar and Tony-winning composing team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:07pm

Man, Bartlett Sher is approaching Kenny Leon levels of constantly finding new things to work on.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:09pm

Marc Platt is producing? What are the odds Jonah Platt gets cast in the Ryan Gosling part?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:22pm

Bartlett Sher's usual direction style (which I love) doesn't seem very well suited for this IMO...

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:35pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Marc Platt is producing? What are the odds Jonah Platt gets cast in the Ryan Gosling part?"

Marc Platt is producing the musical because he also produced the movie.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:39pm

KevinKlawitter said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Marc Platt is producing? What are the odds Jonah Platt gets cast in the Ryan Gosling part?"

Marc Platt is producing the musical because he also produced the movie."

Okay? Marc Platt produced the legally blonde film, but had no involvement in the stage show.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 12:49pm

Yay, more Marc Platt nepotism discourse. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 1:01pm

bwayphreak234 said: "Bartlett Sher's usual direction style (which I love) doesn't seem very well suited for this IMO..."

You don't want set changes that last 10 minutes each?

[Lisalemann]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 6:32pm

Maybe this is the secret musical that Amanda Seyfried is working on?  Casting wise - she would make sense for the lead - I hope so :)

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 6:34pm

Lisalemann said: "Maybe this is the secret musical thatAmanda Seyfried is working on? Casting wise - she would make sense for the lead - I hope so :)"

That was already revealed to be Thelma and Louise.

[Lisalemann]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 7:53pm

That’s right - I forgot!  Wishful thinking - I guess.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 9:15pm

La La Land’s intrigue was all about Damien’s direction of musical numbers in real spaces, echoing Hollywood movies specifically…

 

…they’ll just adapt anything

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 9:57pm

I’m only interested if Emma Stone wants to do it. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/7/23 at 10:26pm

One of the "criticisms" of the film was that it took a very white perspective on jazz...so it'll be interesting to see if that remains the same, or if the character's race is changed for the stage adaptation.

I'm frankly most interested in who will choreograph. There are a lot of people who could do great work with this choreo (and design), ranging from Sher's frequent collaborator Chris Gattelli to Justin Peck to Mandy Moore who choreo'd the film.

I'd actually love to see Damian Chazelle try his hand at directing a stage musical sometime. He has such a visual sense as a filmmaker...OR, could end up like Scorsese or Stanley Donen when they attempted musical theatre.

[raddersons]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 12:46am

This is a movie musical about movies. Adapting it for the stage seems almost pointless if it removes its meta premise.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 12:51am

I love the film, but I feel this is going to go the way of MOULIN ROUGE (another one of my favorite films). All of the magic is almost tied to the cinematic experience of it, and it simply won’t translate to the stage. I hope I’m wrong!

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 1:48am

raddersons said: "This is a movie musical about movies. Adapting it for the stage seems almost pointless if it removes its meta premise."

I wouldn’t actually say it’s ABOUT movies. It’s set within the entertainment biz and takes inspo from movie musicals, but I think its themes are larger and will translate ok to the stage. Something like SINGIN IN THE RAIN is much more intrinsically linked to film, and made a terrible (and too faithful) stage adaptation. And CITY OF ANGELS works as an ode to film noir….at least for those few of us who love it :)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 8:53am

The movie thinks it is about breathing new life into established art forms (jazz, music, cinema) but it is actually about making damn sure that nothing interesting happens as a result.  The movie is a cheesy knockoff of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, and Chazelle should be flogged at Jacques Demy's grave.

At least, on Broadway, there's a likelihood that the cast will actually have a vague idea of how to sing and dance.