The cast is set for Netflix’s 13, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical from Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown and Tony-winning book writer Robert Horn. Just like the show, the newly announced lineup is comprised solely of young performers.
Set to appear in the movie are Eli Golden (The Wizard of Lies), Gabriella Uhl, JD McCrary (Black Is King), Frankie McNellis (Black-ish), Lindsey Blackwell (The Change-Up), Jonathan Lengel, Ramon Reed (Just Roll With It), Nolen Dubuc (Good Boys), Luke Islam (The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers), Shechinah Mpumlwana (Uncorked), Kayleigh Cerezo, Wyatt Moss (The Move), Liam Wignall, and Khiyla Aynne (Work It).
The casting announcement follows rounds of virtual casting calls last fall, at which time production said it expected to film in Canada this June.
As previously reported, Tamra Davis (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) will direct, with Neil Meron, also no stranger to bringing musicals to screens big and small, producing.
The musical, featuring a book by Dan Elish and Tootsie Tony winner Horn, premiered in Los Angeles in 2007, going on to bow on Broadway the following year. The production marked the first—and to date, only—musical to feature a cast and band comprised entirely of teenagers. Among the company were a young Graham Phillips, Allie Trimm, and Ariana Grande. The musical centers on 13-year-old Evan Goldman as he navigates a sudden move from NYC to Indiana, his parents divorcing, and his impending bar mitzvah.
Netflix’s myriad additional stage-to-screen projects include movie adaptations of Matilda (starring Emma Thompson), tick, tick…BOOM! (marking Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut), and two in-development works from mega-producer Ryan Murphy: a movie version of The Legend of Georgia McBride and a limited series based on A Chorus Line.
