Don’t say goodbye to Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne just yet. There’s some southern flavor headed for the Great White Way.
Nashville may be done on television, but the series from creator Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise, Mad Money) will be reborn as a Broadway musical. Following a six-year run across ABC, CMT, and Hulu, Nashville will be guided to the stage by 10-time Tony Award-winning producer Scott Delman (American Idiot; Ragtime; Book of Mormon; Hello, Dolly!; Fun Home; Mean Girls) of Blue Spruce Productions.
This marks the start of a new series of live stage productions based on film and television properties from the Lionsgate library. Delman acquired the live theatrical rights to Nashville from Lionsgate and ABC Studios, which co-produced and distributed the television show.
“Nashville, with its complex, relatable characters and sweeping emotional gestures, has all of the narrative elements that I look for in great theatrical source material. From that rich DNA, we will be building an original story with entirely original music, written by major Nashville and Broadway songwriters,” Delman says. “We are particularly excited to deliver Broadway’s first score of true contemporary country music — a genre that has exploded with mainstream audiences in recent years. Lionsgate has a treasure-trove of sterling IP, and I’m honored to be a part of this new phase of their live entertainment division.”
Lionsgate was already making moves in the live event space with La La Land in Concert, The Hunger Games in Concert and Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage world tours. Additionally, the Now You See Me Live show made its debut in China and is being prepped for a world tour.
Production details and casting for Nashville will be revealed in the months ahead.
Photo: Big Machine Records/ABC
