The 1993 hit comedy flick Groundhog Day, which starred Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, is the latest film to get a Broadway musical adaptation, joining the ranks of other movie-turned-musical ventures such as Once and Newsies.
While the theater is still undetermined, previews of the Groundhog Day musical is set to begin on Jan. 23, 2017. The official opening is slated for March 9 of the same year.
The team behind the film's musical adaptation is the same team that created the current Broadway hit Matilda. This includes director Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage), composer-lyricist Tim Minchin, choreographer Peter Darling (Billy Elliott) and set and costume designer Rob Howell.
The screenplay will be written through the collaboration of Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. The musical will be produced by Scott Rudin, Whistle Pig Productions and Columbia Live Stage.
According to Minchin, the musical is "going to be both instantly recognizable, and utterly different."
"It has the potential to be complex, dark, visually fascinating, and thematically rich, whilst still being a joyous romantic comedy with cool tunes and lots of gags," wrote Minchin on his blog.
In the movie version of Groundhog Day, Murray played the role of TV meteorologist Phil Connors. Phil had to travel to Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania on Feb. 1 to cover the place's annual Groundhog Day festivities. The next morning, he had to deliver his report on the festivities as part of his assignment, even though he had little care for the assignment and even the place of Punxsutawney. While he wanted to get back on the road and travel back to Pittsburgh, he was forced to stay another night after a blizzard caused all forms of transportation to shut down.
The next morning, it was Feb. 2, Groundhog Day. Phil found himself living out the day exactly as he had done so before. Even the people he met and the words that they said remained the same.
The film grossed $70.9 million on its initial release in North America.
Groundhog Day as a musical is said to be played to audiences day in and day out.
