We’ve been waiting for what Ryan Murphy would bring us after he signed a five-year deal with Netflix and it looks like his latest get is going to be a huge one for the streamer. It has been announced that Murphy will direct and produce the feature adaptation of the Tony-nominated stage musical The Prom and has secured a cast that any major studio would be jealous of.
The film will star Meryl Streep and she is joined by Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Ariana Grande, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key & Andrew Rannells. It is being reported that production will get started in December with a 2020 fall release in theaters for awards consideration before airing on the streamer.
In The Prom, Streep will play Dee Dee Allen, a two-time Tony winner who teams with Corden’s Barry Glickman in a flop musical about Eleanor Roosevelt. After career-ending reviews, they decide — along with Broadway babies Kidman as Angie Dickinson and Rannells (Book of Mormon) as Trent Oliver — to champion a cause to rehabilitate their careers. They find one in Emma, a high school senior in Indiana who isn’t allowed to take her girlfriend to the prom. A nationwide search led by casting director Alexa Fogel is on to fill the role of Emma. Grande will star as Alyssa, a popular daughter of the head of the PTA. Awkwafina will play the group’s publicist Ms. Sheldon, and Key will play Streep’s love interest and Emma’s ally, Principal Hawkins.
Apparently, the cast for this project came together very quickly this spring and each cast member was hand picked by Murphy himself. The cast jumped at the chance to join the film because of its themes of inclusion and tolerance. For Murphy, this adds to three series he is delivering to Netflix as a part of his very lucrative deal. The three shows include The Politicians, Ratched and Hollywood. The mega-producer also has two yet to be announced documentaries and another movie stage adaptation coming. The movie adaptation is The Boys in the Band, directed by Joe Mantello with the recent Broadway 50th anniversary revival cast.
In regards to The Prom’s music, it will be produced by Ryan Murphy, Ariana Grande, and her manager, Scooter Braun.
