
According to The New York Times, opening night will be March 9, 2017, at a theatre to be announced. Matthew Warchus will direct, with choreography by Peter Darling, and set and costume design by Rob Howell, the Times reported.
Like the film, the musical tells the story of a snarky TV journalist sent to cover Groundhog Day festivities in Punxatawney, PA, but finds himself in a "Twilight Zone"-like quandary, forced to live the day over and over again until he learns the errors of his ways and gets the day "right."
The musical had its first workshop July 12, 2014 in London, with Warchus at the helm. According to the Tony-nominated songwriter, who answered fan questions July 16, 2014 via TheGuardian.com, the first workshop was finished over the previous weekend. Minchin said, "It's looking exciting, but it's so hard to know how good it's going to be. I'm incredibly impatient to see it on its feet. I'm glad you like 'Seeing You.' I love playing it and people seem to react really strongly to it. I hasten to add, not all the songs are so emotional! There's heaps of comedy and a predictable tendency towards too many lyrics."
"Seeing You," a song from the new musical — about a weatherman who finds himself reliving the same day over and over — was recently performed by the songwriter in London's Hyde Park. Watch the performance below.
Minchin also said in the Q&A, "I've written a song for Groundhog Day about the inevitability of death… It won't be in the public domain for 18 months."
It was previously reported that Tony and Olivier Award-winning Matilda director Matthew Warchus is shepherding the project and once the musical is ready, Warchus will determine whether the show is bound for the London or New York stage first.
Minchin's Tony-nominated Matilda is slated to premiere in Sydney later this year and is currently running at Broadway's Shubert Theatre.