Once becoming a stage musical

The Oscar-winning pic will hit the theatre

Oct 16th 2008 By Total Film

Following in the footsteps of The Lion King, Legally Blonde and Shrek, movie musical Once will be getting its own crack at the stage.

Producers John N Hart Jr, Jeffrey Sine and Frederick Zollo have grabbed the rights to make a theatrical version of the film, which won an Oscar for its song Falling Slowly at the 2007 Oscars, reports Variety.

The film – directed by John Carney and starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – follows a nameless pair who meet, bond through song and slowly fall in love before the realities of life intervene.

New songs

While there’s no word on who will write the show’s script or score, the producers are hoping that Hansard, Irglova and Carney will all be involved.

Especially since the show will use music played in the film alongside other tracks written by the central pair that didn’t make it into the movie.

And no one has stumped up the money to actually fun the thing, but the production team wants the show playing in New York by 2011.

Who wants to bet the musical’s budget will be three times the size of the movie’s micro-cost shoot?