The 1990s sitcom The Nanny is being developed into a Broadway musical, with series creators Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson on board to write the book for the show, while Rachel Bloom and Adam Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Schlesinger will write the music.
The project was announced today by producers Brian Zeilinger and Scott Zeilinger. Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) will direct. Production schedule, additional creative team and cast will be announced at a later date.
Bloom, who co-created and stars in The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, will write the musical’s lyrics and share songwriting with Schlesinger. The songwriting team (with Jack Dolgen) won a 2019 Emmy for their score Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
“We are so excited to be working on the Broadway musical The Nanny,” said Drescher and Jacobson. We’re equally excited that the talented Rachel Bloom will write the lyrics and music with the amazing Adam Schlesinger and have brilliant direction from Marc Bruni. No one has been cast yet – we are planning – but we feel confident that we will find a wonderful actress who is funny, charming and has a great voice.”
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As for whether Drescher would like to reprise her TV role on stage, the actress quipped: “Of course I would do it myself but we would have to change the title to The Granny.”
“The Nanny was a fundamental part of my childhood,” Bloom said, “because it was the first time I saw an openly Jewish female character on television. However, Fran Fine’s story is a universal one that has touched the hearts of people of all races, religions, and orientations. I’m so proud to use the characters established by The Nanny to tell a new story about a woman’s journey to becoming proud of who she is and what makes her different.
The hit CBS sitcom ran from 1993-99, receiving 12 Emmy nominations. Inspired in part by Drescher’s upbringing in Queens, the show has been broadcast in more than 90 countries and more than 30 languages.
“The Nanny TV series starts from a familiar theatrical premise – but what if instead Maria Rainer had her guitar,” said director Bruni, making the Sound of Music reference. , Fran Fine appears at the door of a broken family? Over six seasons, the show tackles class, adulthood, feminism, love and Broadway with heart and laughter. I’m delighted to be working with Fran, Peter, Rachel and Adam in bringing these characters to the stage in a fresh new light that I hope will delight fans of the show as well as capture the imagination. symbol of a new generation of theater – the goer.”
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Scott Zeilinger and his son Brian Zeilinger are co-producers of Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls, and their production company, Zeilinger Productions, has a list of previous Broadway and West End productions including Network, 1984, The Elephant Man, The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
