Bailey, of course, has her own musical bona fides. The pop star protégé of Beyoncé broke out on the big screen as Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid live-acton remake and as Young Nettie in The Color Purple movie musical. Liu reportedly has a dance background, and has another musical comedy (John Carney’s Power Ballad) on her upcoming roster. The cast includes some other Broadway stars including Bonnie Milligan (Kimberly Akimbo), Colton Ryan (Dear Evan Hansen), and Lilli Cooper (Spring Awakening). 30 Rock vet Maulik Pancholy is also set to star.
The as-yet untitled film “follows a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a local production of an original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role and the high-stakes world of this community theater production.” Eisenberg will direct from his own script with his own original music and lyrics. He’s joined on the production by music supervisor Steven Gizicki (A Complete Unknown), executive music producer Bill Sherman (In The Heights), choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton), and cinematographer Drew Daniels (Anora), per Deadline.
Eisenberg is apparently a longtime lover of musical theater, telling Esquire last year that his dream as a middle schooler was to be part of the ensemble of Les Misérables on Broadway. “My brain was not wired to create musical theater,” he claimed at the time. And yet he has also shared about writing songs with his son and for his wife on birthdays and anniversaries. “The movie I’m directing now, it takes place in a musical, so I wrote the music for the musical that the characters are performing in the movie. And then I think I’ll release an album next year,” he revealed in an interview with Amelia Dimoldenberg. So much for not having the brain for it—anyone who sets their film in the world of musical theater and secures Bernadette Peters for the supporting cast knows exactly what they’re doing.
