Fans were surprised when producers confirmed on Wednesday that the much-loved romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians is being developed into a Broadway musical. Jon M Chu, who also helmed the original big-screen version released in 2018, will direct the musical.
Who will join the team?
Based on Kevin Kwan’s highly acclaimed bestselling trilogy, this adaptation will mark Chu’s Broadway directorial debut. Chu has made several movie screen adaptations of theater plays. He is currently working on Universal’s two-part series Wicked. He had previously directed the cinematic adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights.
The official press release describes this musical as “a fun, engaging, and hilarious look at what can happen when young love collides with old money.” Like the original screenplay, the stage show will follow the story of a Chinese American professor named Rachel, who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick, only to discover his immense wealth. It starred Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Michelle Yeoh in lead roles and topped the box office sales, eventually grossing $239 million worldwide.
Award-winning playwright Leah Nanako Winkler is set to pen this Broadway musical’s book and currently serves as co-executive producer and writer on CBS’ Elsbeth.
The musical score will be composed by Helen Park, the first Asian female composer to be produced on Broadway. The lyrics will be written by Amanda Green and Tat Tong. Park has been nominated for the TONY Award for Best Original Score for the musical KPOP. Green also has a Tony nomination under her belt and composing credits on her resume. Tong is a member of the duo The Swaggernautz.
Is a movie sequel in production as well?
A sequel to this rom-com has been in development for about five years, but the process has been strained by some disputes. Adele Lim, who co-wrote the original screenplay of the 2018 hit with Peter Chiarelli, dropped out of the project due to conflict with Warner Bros. There were reports in 2022 that the sequel, along with a spin-off story starring Chan and Shum Jr., was in development at the studio. Both the follow-ups borrow the story from China Rich Girlfriend, the book sequel authored by Kwan.
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is revealed to be producing the theatre version after being involved in the movie adaptation as well. This is not their first movie-to-musical adaptation, with a hand in stage show versions of The Notebook, The Outsiders, Days of Wine and Roses, and more.
