A 13 Going on 30 musical is in the works based on the 2004 coming-of-age rom-com starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo.
It might be time to brush up on your “Thriller” dance moves because a 13 Going on 30 musical is heading to the stage! That’s right, coming-of-age rom-com fans, a musical adaptation of the 2004 comedy starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo is in development by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa.
According to Variety, 13 Going on 30 The Musical premieres “next summer with music and lyrics by Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and direction by Andy Fickman, who also directed the original stage adaptation of “Heathers the Musical.”
Goldsmith and Yuspa have plans for a two-week workshop at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, U.K., with four performances (Oct. 25-28) open to the public. Announcements for cast members will follow in the coming weeks.
A glittering gem of romance cinema in the early 2000s, 13 Going on 30 tells the tale of Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen/Jennifer Garner), a young woman who makes an unorthodox wish on her birthday. Strangely, her wish comes true, and the 13-year-old Jenna wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old woman. What happens next is a lesson in being careful what you wish for, as 30 is also a challenging age to navigate. While spending time in her new body, Jenna quickly learns to appreciate the wonders of being a teenager and lives her life differently.
“When we poured our middle school pain into the movie ’13 Going on 30,’ we never quite imagined it would stick around to this day as a rom-com parents show their kids, a Halloween costume, a scene in an Ariana Grande music video, and a teen sleepover staple,” said Goldsmith and Yuspa. “Now we’re thrilled to be bringing our pain across the pond with ’13 Going on 30 The Musical.’”
“It’s been endlessly fun working with ROYO [the theater company], Todd Garner, Revolution Studios, composer/lyricists Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, and director Andy Fickman to reinvent this story for the London stage,” the duo added. “We can’t wait for a new generation to grab some Razzles and feel thirty, flirty, and thriving.”
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