Buzz has been generating about the 10 Things I Hate About You musical for months now (after all, it’s hard to keep completely under wraps when a musical is in the workshop phase). Last month, Ann Harada—an original cast member of Avenue Q who co-starred with Jepsen in Cinderella on Broadway in 2014—posted a picture with the pop star on her Instagram. “Reunited with my superstar ex-stepsister doing a reading of her new musical,” Harada captioned the post. “We get along now, although I think I could still break her little arm.”
Singer-songwriter scores are all the rage on Broadway right now. Sara Bareilles’ acclaimed Waitress score was followed by showings from Ingrid Michaelson, Florence Welch, and soon Mitski. (All were involved in similar screen-to-stage adaptations, a trend that includes other recent stage musicals like Death Becomes Her, Moulin Rouge, Back To The Future, Tootsie, Pretty Woman, and more.) Writing the book for a Broadway show has also attracted Hollywood talent; Tina Fey adapted her own movie Mean Girls for the stage, and Glen Powell has also hinted he’s cooking up a musical, too. Dunham’s got a busy slate with her upcoming Netflix series (under an overall deal with the streamer), but it sounds like 10 Things I Hate About You has been in the works for some time now. The show is being directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon (An American In Paris, MJ: The Musical), while Tony winner Tom Kitt (Next To Normal, If/Then) will serve as music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator. (Kitt worked on Grease: Live, which co-starred Jepsen.) Mike Bosner (Shucked, Beautiful—The Carole King Musical) will serve as producer.
