"Wicked" And "Spring Awakening" Heading To The Big Screen
Two major Broadway smashes are finally making their way to the big screen, as the creators of Wicked and Spring Awakening have signaled both musicals are Hollywood-bound.
Talk of a film version of Wicked has been around almost since the show debuted on the Great White Way in 2003, but composer Stephen Schwartz told Vulture “we're starting to do some work on it. We've actually started gearing up on it a little bit.”
Though he admits it could be a few years off, Schwartz seems genuinely excited about the prospect of a Wicked film: "What are we going to change? What are we going to keep? How do you use a whole new language and medium to tell the story?" he teased. "[We can] really look at it again and say, ‘Oh, we can do this, and we’ve always wanted to do that and we couldn’t onstage, but we can in a movie.’ We’re actually having a blast."
Who would star? "They've already told the both of us we'll be too long in the tooth," original Elphaba Idina Menzel said about herself and co-star Kristin Chenoweth (a.k.a. Glinda).
How about Lea Michele and Taylor Swift?
Speaking of Michele, the coming-of-age musical Spring Awakening—which Michele starred in on Broadway—is on the fast-track for a movie adaptation. Composer Duncan Sheik told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he and lyricist Steven Sater are hoping to make the movie this year, with Charlie's Angels director McG set to direct.
Sheik said he and lyricist Steven Sater have even written a new song for the film, if only to capture a little Oscar gold. "The real truth always is that it’s the only way you’re eligible for an Academy Award, is to have a new song," he said. "[So] we’ve written the song. I can’t wait to do it —I hope I get to do it, to record it."
Again, Michele and her original Awakening co-stars—including BFF Jonathan Groff—are a little too old to play adolescents, so the casting is wide open.