Global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) and Emmy® and Tony Award®-winning producer Marc Platt announced today that six-time Academy Award®-winning film La La Land will be heading to the Broadway stage. Lionsgate is developing a musical based on the 2016 box office smash, which was written and directed by Damien Chazelle and starred Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Following an aspiring actress and a jazz musician as they pursue their dreams in Los Angeles, the film earned Academy Awards® for best director, actress in a leading role, production design, cinematography, original score and original song.
The show will be directed 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.
“I’m thrilled to reunite with Lionsgate and the incredible team behind La La Land to adapt the movie for the Broadway stage, the next exciting chapter in its evolution,” said Platt. “We’ve assembled a world-class team to create a musical that will delight La La Land‘s millions of current fans and introduce the property to a whole new audience.”
“With La La Land in Concert marking its sixth year of touring worldwide and the original film a timeless and globally revered cultural touchstone, we’re excited to provide fans yet another way to experience the original movie,” said Jenefer Brown, Lionsgate EVP & Head of Global Products & Experiences.
La La Land’s planned adaptation to the Broadway stage follows the launch of several live stage productions based on iconic Lionsgate film and television properties, including Dirty Dancing, Now You See Me, Wonder and Nashville.
The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Brown, EVP of Business & Legal Affairs Eva Feder and Stefan Schick at Loeb & Loeb.