Theresa Rebeck Joins Broadway-Bound ‘Working Girl’ Musical Adaptation As Book Writer
09.08.2022 - 20:07
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Playwright Theresa Rebeck, who created the stage musical-themed NBC series Smash, has joined the real-life Broadway-bound musical adaptation of the 1988 film comedy Working Girl, producers announced today.
Rebeck will write the book of the musical, said producers Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler of Aged In Wood Productions and Kumiko Yoshii.
While Rebeck has had four plays produced on Broadway (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Dead Accounts, Seminar, Mauritius), Working Girl would mark her Broadway debut as a book writer for a musical. As previously announced, Cyndi Lauper is writing the music and lyrics, and Christopher Ashley will direct.
“Smash ignited my love of musical theater and I’ve been eager to find the right musical project since then,” Rebeck said in a statement. “I couldn’t have dreamed up a better fit than Working Girl, or better collaborators than Cyndi, Chris and this team. I can’t wait for audiences to discover how we’ve reimagined this beloved classic.”
The film starred Melanie Griffith as a secretary from Staten Island who takes over her boss’s position while the boss (Sigourney Weaver) is off work with a broken leg. After pitching a successful merger idea, Griffith’s character watches as the scheming boss takes credit.
Producer Goodman said, “Since producing Theresa’s early hit play Spike Heels in 1990 at Second Stage, I have remained a true fan. Her humor, intelligence and commitment to feminism, make her the perfect playwright for this story. She and Cyndi Lauper are our dream team of modern-day passionate and talented working women. “
Said Lauper: “I’ve been a fan of Theresa’s for a long time, and I’m so excited to be working with her on this project. It was really important to me and the rest of the