Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced that it will stage the world premiere of Monsoon Wedding, based on the hit Bollywood film of the same name. Mira Nair, who directed the acclaimed 2001 film version, returns to helm the stage musical. The production is the sixth show to join the 2016-17 season.

Following workshops in New York last year, the new stage musical received a developmental lab earlier this year and is set to receive another lab this spring. The show features a book by screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan, music by Vishal Bhardwaj and lyrics by Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam.)

“I have always envisioned Monsoon Wedding as a fully fleshed out musical,” says Nair in a press statement. “The overlapping stories, fast-paced, rich dialogue combined with terrific musical numbers are perfect for a stage production. But at its core it has a fantastic story, and to be working with Berkeley Rep to help tell that story just adds to the excitement. I know the end result will be something terrific.”

The Golden Globe-nominated film Monsoon Wedding follows the stress, joy, gossip and wonder surrounding the preparations of an extravagant arranged marriage in India. Watch the film's trailer below:
In Monsoon Wedding “the perfect storm starts brewing when family members from around the world descend on Delhi for a nonstop four-day celebration of an arranged marriage between a modern upper middle-class Indian family’s only daughter and an American guy she’s never met,“ state press notes. “But the bride is having an affair, her father’s financial troubles deepen, and dark family secrets surface. The forecast calls for melodrama, love, hope, and a whole lot of rain.“

Dates, casting and a full creative team are yet to be announced.