US director Jon M. Chu (44, “The Incredibles 2”, “In the Heights”) wants to bring his previous film hit “Crazy Rich” to the stage as a musical. The filmmaker announced his planned Broadway debut on Instagram on Wednesday (local time). Kevin Kwan, author of the book “Crazy Rich Asians” (the English title of the book and film), said he was really looking forward to the stage play. South Korean-born Helen Park, who previously scored the musical “KPOP,” is on board as composer.
In the turbulent Asian love story “Crazy Rich” (2018), Chu cast all the main roles with actors of Asian descent. The happy ending story revolved around the young New York professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), who is invited to her native Singapore by her friend Nick Young (Henry Golding). However, he didn’t tell her that he is the scion of one of the richest families in the country and is considered a desirable bachelor. Above all, his class-conscious mother (Michelle Yeoh) wants a suitable bride. “Crazy Rich” was the first major Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast since the 1993 drama “Daughters of Heaven” (“Joy Luck Club”).
Nothing was initially known about the cast for the musical. Chu also had success in 2021 with the musical film “In the Heights”, based on the musical of the same name by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Most recently he filmed the musical “Wicked – The Witches of Oz”, one of the biggest hits on New York’s Broadway. The two-part film adaptation with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in witch roles is scheduled to be released in cinemas at the end of 2024 and 2025.
