Normally, news about a film being adapted to a stage musical is met with weeping and gnashing of teeth from theatre purists who see it as sign that the glory days of the American stage are long gone. This time, however, the alarmists may be wrong. According to the MTV Movies Blog, the much beloved Bill Murray picture “Groundhog Day” may well be coming to the stage as a musical comedy and while it probably won’t be another “Of Thee I Sing,” there’s more than a little reason to be hopeful.
In case you’ve forgotten, “Groundhog Day” stars Murray as a bitter weatherman who is forced to relive February 2nd over and over again until he convinces Andie MacDowell to fall in love with him. Apparently, the universe has a strange sense of happiness. Regardless, it’s a charmingly belletristic little film that features one of Murray’s strongest performances and a number of memorable moments–in particular the endless repitition of the Sonny and Cher hit “I Got You Babe.” Musical fodder? We think so!
According to Harold Ramis–the comedy maven who directed the 1993 film–the musical is already in development. Danny Rubin, who wrote the screenplay (with significant contributions from Ramis) has been working on the book for some time now. While it’s fair to say that Rubin isn’t exactly the world’s best dramatic writer, the project may actually involve the person who holds that title. Apparently, Stephen Sondheim — probably the most original and talented composer of musicals since Gershwin — has expressed interest in bringing the movie to the stage. Even Sondheim’s failures are at least interesting in their badness (Merrily We Roll Along, anyone?) so if he’s attached to this it ought to be worth investigating.
None of this is certain, of course, but it is certainly food for thought. The possible inclusion of Sondheim, while still just a rumor, is more than enough to get any fan of “Groundhog Day” and/or musical theatre excited. On the plus side, Ramis also noted that frequent Sondheim collaborator and respected stage writer/director James Lapine contacted him about possibly making this project happen. Hopefully, Ramis will stay at least partially connected throughout the process. The real question, though, is who they can find to bring the wooden, boring dullness of Andie MacDowell’s acting to Broadway.