Monsoon Wedding musical

[arhelmjohn]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 10:19am

Loved the movie. Anyone heard anything about casting on this one? I heard about the workshop they are doing so I was interested.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 6:02pm

Had no idea. This sounds like it would be ideal for a musical. So, who are our author(s)? God, I hope A.R. Rahman is nowhere near this.

[WildBlue22]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 6:21pm

This would be awesome! I hadn't heard about it but what a movie.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 7:15pm

I saw a blurb here:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/MONSOON-WEDDING-Musical-Gets-NYC-Industry-Reading-This-Winter-20141014

The reading will be helmed by Mira Nair, who also directed the film. Mary-Mitchell Campbell is the reading's musical director. Screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan is writing the book, with music by Vishal Bhardwaj and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.

MONSOON WEDDING follows "a stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world during preparations for an arranged marriage in India."

Margo Lion, Stephen Hendel and Colin Callender are producing with general manager Roy Gabay and casting directors Cindy Tolan and Adam Caldwell on the hunt for a cast of South Asian actors.

I'm most interested in how the casting will turn out...

[twotrey]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 5:42am

Interesting. Vishal Bhardwaj is a terrific composer and also a very solid film director as well (best known for his adaptations of Shakespeare plays, most recently Haider, based on Hamlet, which released in cinemas in October).

[sparepart973]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 6:42am

Should be very good. I hope they keep numbers from the soundtrack in the stage version, as it was really fantastic. They would probably have to integrate mehndi songs into the narrative (which is how they did Bend it Like Beckham). The film already does that well. Can't wait for this to open and can't wait for Bend It Like Beckham to open in London next year!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 6:54am

twotrey - I looked up a few Vishal Bhardwaj songs on YT and found several from Haider and found them a bit dull, but all cut of the same cloth. I'm assuming that droning sound fit the film's aesthetic, but out of context didn't do much for me. Perhaps you have a few other songs to recommend listening to to get a taste of his talent?

[arhelmjohn]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 11:49am

Well I just heard from a friend of mine who went in for the show a few times and is waiting to hear back. He read for the groom apparently and met Mira Nair. This sounds like it will be great!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 4:03pm

I imagine every South Asian actor who can sing and dance is going in for this one!

[arhelmjohn]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 11:15am

haha im sure. No one has heard anything about casting I guess. Interested who they'll pick

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 11:21am

Edited accordingly. I'm still not a fan of Birkenhead's lyrics.
Updated On: 11/6/14 at 11:21 AM

[arhelmjohn]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:41am

Yeah we'll see how they infuse the Indian and western music together. Still no word on any casting choices though.

[arhelmjohn]

Posted: 11/13/14 at 5:01pm

Looks like the casting was done Friday- so we should know soon when its announced for this reading.

[Fan123]

Posted: 9/22/15 at 4:02am

Hypokrit Theatre Company recently tweeted a mention of a workshop for this show - https://twitter.com/hypokritnyc/status/644542969194893313. I don't know anything else about the workshop though. I don't suppose anybody has additional information on this?

[Fan123]

Posted: 4/7/16 at 5:14am

For those interested, there's another lab for this show coming up in late May through June in New York. Auditions are being held in San Francisco on 9 April.

https://www.backstage.com/casting/monsoon-wedding-bay-area-singers-110715/

https://www.broadwayworld.com/equity-audition/MONSOON-WEDDING-Developmental-Lab-2016-12740

[Fan123]

Posted: 12/30/16 at 5:43am

A few more tidbits on this show, which as we know is now set to premiere at Berkeley Rep in 2017.

Namit Das has been cast as PK Dubey: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/namit-das-on-reprising-the-iconic-role-of-pk-dubey-in-the-monsoon-wedding-broadway-musical/17689178. He talks a little about the show's score in that article. The cast apparently also includes Krystal Kiran (source) and Sharvari Deshpande (source), not sure of the roles. I think that some/all of them might have been involved with the in-development show from way back. Mira Nair also talks very briefly about the show in this recent article.

Updated On: 12/30/16 at 05:43 AM

[Fan123]

Posted: 2/3/17 at 3:57am

For those who missed it, the main cast for the Berkeley Rep production was recently announced: https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Berkeley-Rep-Announces-Casting-of-MONSOON-WEDDING-20170125.