A musical adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You, based on the 1999 Touchstone Pictures film written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith, is heading to Broadway next year.
The production features a book by Lena Dunham and playwright Jessica Huang, with music and lyrics by Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Gruska. Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris, MJ the Musical) will serve as director and choreographer, with music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). Mike Bosner produces.
The musical will begin preview performances on August 17 at a theater TBA. Casting and additional creative team members also will be announced at a later date.
Per the official logline, 10 Things I Hate About You takes us back to the halls of Padua High. Amid the crushes, cliques, and teenage angst, two sisters set out to define themselves on their own terms. This rebellious new musical is about growing up, discovering yourself, and refusing to live by others’ expectations.
A retelling of William Shakespeare’s 1594 play The Taming of the Shrew, the 1999 film version of 10 Things I Hate About You gained cult status in later years for its themes and characters. In the film, high-school student Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is unable to date Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) until her asocial feminist sister Kat (Julia Stiles) dates, leading to Cameron recruiting bad boy classmate Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to date Kat. The film also featured Ledger’s iconic cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”
10 Things I Hate About You is produced by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.