Groundhog Day is coming to Broadway: the Matilda musical team is adapting the Hollywood classic for the stage.
Another day, another remake news story. The Hypable staff is beginning to get that Groundhog Day vibe as the news stories continue to repeat themselves, so the irony of this particular story isn’t lost on us.
While we’ve known for almost a year that this musical was in development, it’s only now been made official: the Groundhog Day musical is landing on Broadway in early 2017.
Den of Geek writes that previews for Groundhog Day are expected to start on Jan. 23, 2017, with the official opening set for March 9.
The movie’s original screenwriter Danny Rubin will be writing the book for Groundhog Day: The Musical (official title pending), and Matilda creators Tim Minchin and Matthew Warchus will reunite for this project. They will be working with designer Rob Howell and choreographer Peter Darling.
Related: If/Then’s creators talk importance of originality on Broadway
The original Groundhog Day was released in 1993. Directed by Harold Ramis, it starred Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, and told the iconic story of a man who lived the same day over and over again, until he got it right.
The movie is often referenced or recreated in pop culture; Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural have both done episodes centering around the idea of a repeating day, while books, comics and movies (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Edge of Tomorrow and Interstellar) all use the time loop device to tell their stories.
It’ll be interesting to see what the musical version of this film will look like. There’s enough humor and quirk to make for an entertaining show, and the story is recognizable enough to catch the public’s interest.
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