Virtual Field Trips, New King & I Movie, The Queen’s Gambit Musical and Aretha Franklin Series
On this week’s episode, Starlight partners with Disney for a new Community Engagement program, The King and I is being revamped into a movie musical, Netflix’s hit show, The Queen’s Gambit, will become a musical, and a new series about the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is set to premiere on the National Geographic Channel.
Virtual Screening of NEWSIES
With theatres and schools taking a huge hit during the pandemic, Starlight is excited to announce a new partnership with Disney this spring for a virtual field trip and screening of NEWSIES: The Broadway Musical. NEWSIES will stream through Disney’s virtual screening platform, April 5th through April 30th and will be a free event for educators serving grades 6-12. In addition to the performance, the program will include supplementary materials such as access to a talkback with the Disney team and more! Registration to participate in the screening of NEWSIES is required by March 22.
Paramount Getting to Know You Want a The King and I Remake
Sixty-five years since it’s film debut, there’s a new The King and I movie musical in the works! Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights. Based on true events that happened in the 1860s, The King and I tells the story of Anna Leonowens, who sets sail from England for Bangkok to take the position as a schoolteacher for the royal court of the King of Siam. The first film made from the stage musical was directed by Walter Lang and starred Yul Brynner, winning five Oscars out of nine nominations. The most recent Broadway revival opened in 2015 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and won the Best Revival of a Musical Tony. We’ll keep you posted on this exciting new adaptation as we know more.
Aretha Franklin Biopic Respect, Starring Jennifer Hudson, Delayed Again
R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find out what it means in the debut of Genius: Aretha coming to the National Geographic channel. This new series will focus on the life of Aretha Franklin who is widely known as the Queen of Soul. Considered one of the world’s best selling musical artists of all time, a gospel prodigy, and a champion of the civil rights movement, Genius: Aretha will star Broadway’s Cynthia Erivo as Franklin. Other cast members include Courtney B. Vance, Malcolm Barrett, David Cross, and Patrice Covington. Genius: Aretha will premiere March 21st on National Geographic. All episodes will be available for streaming on Hulu the day after their Nat Geo debuts.
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Getting Turned Into Stage Musical
Soon, Netflix won’t be the only option for you to watch The Queen’s Gambit. Level Forward, the production company behind Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” musical, recently announced that it has won the rights to adapt the beloved novel for a musical. While it began as a novel published in 1983, The Queen’s Gambit is best known for its success on Netflix and follows the journey of an orphan, Beth Harmon, who has an extraordinary ability to understand and win games of chess. The miniseries became a huge hit when it was released in late 2020, with over 62 million viewers in the first month. Stay tuned for more on this production in-development!