Netflix's New Musical Movie Will Star Meryl Streep — CORRECTION
Theater fans can thank Ryan Murphy for making Broadway accessible to everyone with a Netflix subscription... and for remaking one of this year's biggest hit musicals with a massively star-studded cast. Fresh off The Prom's seven nominations at this year's Tony Awards, Netflix has announced that Murphy will be adapting the buzzy musical for the streaming service with an impressive list of stars. Netflix's adaptation of The Prom will star Meryl Streep among other major names, Deadline reported.
UPDATE: Although Ariana Grande was initially reported to be part of this cast, Billboard has confirmed she actually will not be involved as the production conflicts with her Sweetener tour schedule.
EARLIER: The Prom first debuted on Broadway at the end of 2018, and quickly became one of the buzziest new musicals of 2019. The musical comedy centers on a troupe of once-famous Broadway stars who seek to revamp their image after their latest show gets terrible reviews. When they stumble upon the story of a high school in Indiana that won't let two lesbian students go to prom together, the actors jump on the cause as a means to get good press.
In Ryan Murphy's Netflix adaptation, Meryl Streep and James Corden will star as Broadway legends Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman. Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells will play fellow actors Angie Dickinson and Trent Oliver, who join Dee Dee and Barry on their trip to Indiana to protest for a good cause (and more importantly, good press). Rounding out the cast of the new adaptation will be Awkwafina as the actors' publicist Ms. Sheldon, Keegan-Michael Key as the high school's empathetic principal and Dee Dee's love interest Principal Hawkins, and Ariana Grande as the popular, closeted student Alyssa Greene.
The only main role that has yet to be cast is that of high school student Emma Nolan. Emma's story about not being able to bring her girlfriend to prom is what bring the actors to Indiana in the first place — it is later revealed that Alyssa is secretly Emma's girlfriend. The casting team behind Netflix's The Prom adaptation is currently on a nationwide search to cast the lead role, so the part of Emma could very well go to an unknown name.
The new musical movie marks the third major collaboration between Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. The pair first co-starred in the 2002 drama The Hours, and are currently acting opposite one another in the second season of HBO's prestige drama Big Little Lies.
This Prom adaptation is the latest in a string of new Ryan Murphy projects at Netflix after he signed an overall deal with the network last year. Murphy is also adapting the Broadway show The Boys in the Band for the streaming service, which also stars Andrew Rannells. Along with those two adaptations, Murphy also has two new series coming to Netflix: the Ben Platt-led comedy The Politician and the Sarah Paulson-led One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest prequel series Ratched.
Production on The Prom is set to begin at the end of 2019. The movie is slated to get a theatrical release during fall of 2020 to make it eligible for awards season prior to the musical streaming on Netflix.
