A Broadway-aimed musical adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery Medal-winning novel, A Wrinkle in Time, is in the works.
The stage adaptation of the tome, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, will feature music and lyrics by Obie-winning composer Heather Christian (Oratorio for Living Things) and a book by Horton Foote Prize winner Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band). Two-time Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (Dance Nation) will direct.
Diana DiMenna and Plate Spinner Productions, Aaron Glick, and Charlotte Jones Voiklis are attached as producers.
A Wrinkle in Time, a breakthrough science fantasy adventure, follows Meg Murry, who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother and friend to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.
Charlotte Jones Voiklis, L’Engle's granddaughter and director of her literary estate, has shepherded the project and selected the creative team, alongside producers DiMenna and Glick.
“Knowing my grandmother’s love of and devotion to theatre, I had long envisioned a musical adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time that could transport audiences to a different dimension in a way only music can,” says Voiklis. “I am inspired by this creative team who truly love and understand the original novel and yet are ready to explore the possibilities of what it could be on the stage. Heather masterfully layers meaning with her unique voice and story-telling compositions. Lauren’s inventive and lyrical plays, many of which explore the relationships between generations, make her the perfect match to write the story for the stage. Lee, who is known for helming emotionally potent new plays and musicals that boldly re-invent familiar story-telling conventions and forms, is ready to bring all the elements together for a deep and magical stage experience.”
“A Wrinkle in Time is a wildly imaginative and deeply emotional story of a young woman searching for her father and discovering that her capacity to love and be connected to the people around her is her superpower,” add Yee, Christian, and Evans in a joint statement. “So much of the book feels gloriously impossible to stage—tessering through time and space, the chilling of world Camazotz, and the indescribable ways of communicating on other planets in the universe—which is exactly why we’re thrilled to adapt this story into a musical. We’re so inspired by this iconic book and can't wait to invite audiences to gather in a theatre to experience this moving, bold story told with all the electric magic of live performance.”
A Wrinkle in Time, which has sold over 10 million copies, is part of a five-book series written by L’Engle named the Time Quintet. The later books include A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.
Dates for productions, as well as additional creative team members, will be announced in 2023.
