The 1983 book The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis is getting another adaptation, this time for the stage. Following the successful 2020 Netflix series, the story will be adapted into a musical production, with playwright Eboni Booth writing the script and Whitney White directing. The production is being put on by the Tony-winning studio Level Forward.
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On the heels of the release of her album The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We in September, Mitski is getting set to write the music and lyrics for the production. She’ll be embarking on a tour starting January 2024 in support of the album as well.
“Before Level Forward even brought the idea of making a musical of The Queen’s Gambit, I was a fan of the Netflix show, and an even greater fan of the original novel,” Mitski said in a statement. “So I was already determined to be a member of this team…And then I met Eboni and Whitney, and my determination grew tenfold!”
[RELATED: Mitski Plots 2024 ‘The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We’ North American Tour]
The story of The Queen’s Gambit follows orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon as she quickly rises through the professional chess ranks during the Cold War era. But, while her talent is immense, she deals with personal struggles in the form of addiction.
“Told through a brave and fresh point of view,” said Level Forward CEO Adrienne Becker and producer Julia Dunetz in a statement, “audiences are already sharing in the friendship and fortitude of the story’s inspiring women who energize and sustain Beth Harmon’s journey and ultimate triumph.”
On Broadway, music-based stage productions are on the rise. Not just musicals, but musicals about music. Barry Manilow recently composed his first musical based on the 1920s German singing group the Comedian Harmonists. The group fell out of history due to Hitler literally writing them out: he ordered their music to be banned and destroyed because they were a group of three Jewish and three Gentile men singing together. Elsewhere on Broadway, Dolly Parton is hoping to have her autobiographical musical out by Spring 2024, although there is no official cast or title to the project.
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