La La Land Will Jump From Screen to Stage | Playbill

Industry News La La Land Will Jump From Screen to Stage

The 2016 movie musical features songs with music by Justin Hurwitz and lyrics by Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone Dale Robinette

The 2016 movie musical La La Land is headed to the stage, according to Variety. The project is reportedly being led by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher, with the book being penned by Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker. 

Some of the film's artists will also be involved in bringing the property to the stage, including composer Justin Hurwitz, lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the Tony-winning team behind Dear Evan Hansen), and producer Marc Platt. Further details, including a production timeline and casting, are scarce.

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, La La Land centers on a struggling jazz pianist (played by Ryan Gosling in the film) and a young actor (Broadway alum Emma Stone), paying tribute to Hollywood by harkening back to the classic movie musicals of the golden age of cinema. The film was a surprise success upon release in 2016, earning Chazelle a Best Director Academy Award and Stone the statue for Best Actress. The movie did not, however, win Best Picture, despite being mistakenly announced (over the evening's true winner, Moonlight) as having taken the honor in an onstage gaffe.

The project was a rare lyrics-only gig for Pasek and Paul, who have jointly provided music and lyrics for such projects as Dear Evan HansenDogfightA Christmas Story The MusicalJames and the Giant Peach, and The Greatest Showman.

The stage adaptation will be a reunion for Platt and Pasek and Paul. Platt, who produces for both stage and screen, did not work on any of the duo's stage projects, but did produce A Christmas Story Live and Dear Evan Hansen for the screen, along with La La Land.

 
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!