Crazy Rich Asians is going from page to screen to stage. Variety reports that a musical version of the hit romantic comedy is currently being developed, with director Jon M. Chu at the helm.
Chu directed the hit 2018 feature film Crazy Rich Asians for Warner Bros., adapted from author Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel of the same name. Per Variety, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Kwan are both involved with the musical adaptation, which will reportedly feature a book by Leah Nanako Winkler, music by Helen Park, and lyrics by Amanda Green and Tat Tong.
The film starred Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, and followed Wu’s Rachel, a Chinese American professor who accompanies her boyfriend Nick (Golding) to his native Singapore only to discover that his family is filthy rich. Crazy Rich Asians was a critical and commercial success, topping the box office for three weeks and eventually grossing $239 million globally. A long-gestating sequel based on Kwan’s follow-up, China Rich Girlfriend, has been in the works, but has hit snags in development after Crazy Rich Asians’ co-screenwriter Adele Lim dropped out of the sequel, citing a pay gap between herself and her white male cowriter.
Chu clearly has a knack for taking musicals from stage to screen. After breaking through in Hollywood as the director responsible for Channing Tatum’s Step Up sequels, Chu successfully adapted Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning In the Heights for the silver screen. Next on his agenda? The dual Wicked films, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Crazy Rich Asians will be Chu’s first test of whether he can reverse engineer movie magic and create an onstage hit.
Per Variety, additional details regarding casting will be released at a later date. Wu recently completed a stint as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, so perhaps she’ll tread the boards once again to step back into the role of Rachel. But don’t expect to see Yeoh reprising her role in the Crazy Rich Asians musical. Chu may have convinced her to do the Wicked movies, but the director told Vanity Fair that Yeoh does not consider herself a vocalist. “She’s like, ‘Jon, I can’t sing,’” Chu said, “‘But I would do anything for you.’”
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