Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell are making a musical about musicals

By Sam Barsanti | December 15, 2016 | 11:22pm

Aux Features Film

Awards season just started, but considering that La La Land is already grabbing tons of little statues and plaques, it seems like the movie industry could be readying itself for a musical renaissance of sorts. Granted, superhero movies will probably have to die out before that ever happens, but the public clearly has a taste for people singing about doing things. According to Deadline, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig are going to take advantage of that with a new musical based on the book Everything’s Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age Of Industrial Musicals, with Smash and Hairspray writers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman putting together the score.

The book was written by Steve Young and Mike Murphy, and it’s about how companies used to enlist Broadway performers to put on shows with names like Diesel Dazzle and The Bathrooms Are Coming to educate and motivate employees. As Deadline explains, this subject matter “lends itself to some great humor,” as these productions would often feature up-and-coming actors playing inanimate objects or people who are overly excited about the existence of some hot new microwave.