Crazy Rich Asians is headed to Broadway, with Jon M. Chu attached to direct a stage musical based on his film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel, Deadline reports.
Kwan’s book, published in 2013 by Doubleday, follows a New York woman who travels to Singapore with his boyfriend to meet his family. Upon arriving, she finds out that her beau comes from an ultrawealthy family. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus praised the novel as “an elegant comedy and an auspicious debut.”
Chu directed a 2018 film adaptation of the novel, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Gemma Chan. The film was a blockbuster hit and earned two Golden Globe nominations.
The book for the musical adaptation is written by Leah Nanako Winkler, the playwright who has also written for television series including Ramy and Schmigadoon! The music is by Helen Park (KPOP), with lyrics by Amanda Green (Mr. Saturday Night) and Tat Tong of the production-songwriting team The Swaggernautz.
Tong confirmed news of the musical on Instagram, writing, “there’s still a lot of work to be done—but this is definitely one of those pinch-me moments that a much younger me could never have dreamed of.…can’t wait for the world to see this!!”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
