'I'm happy to announce that I've been commissioned to adapt the film Amelie for Broadway,' composer Dan Messe confirms.
- Aug 24, 2013
AceShowbiz - Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Amelie", which starred Audrey Tautou in her winning performance as a shy waitress, is coming to Broadway. Dan Messe, the pianist and composer of Brooklyn neo-folk indie band Hem, confirms on the group's Facebook page that he is set to work on the adaptation of the 2001 film.
"So not the best kept secret, but still I'm happy to announce that I've been commissioned to adapt the film Amelie for Broadway," writes Messe. In the production of musical, he will team up with Tony Award-nominated playwright Craig Lucas and co-lyricist Nathan Tysen, who wrote lyrics for musical shows "The Burnt Part Boys" and "Tuck Everlasting".
According to Playbill.com, the project has additionally secured director Pam MacKinnon, who won this year's Tony for her work on a revival of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". No other information is available as of now.
In an interview with Paste Magazine, Messe admits he is a fan of the film for many years and reveals that Hem's 2007 song "Half Asleep" was inspired by one particular scene where "Amelie and Nino are speaking between the door." Though he loves Yann Tiersen's original film music, Messe says he will bring a different version for the musical.
"He's a very different sort of composer than I am. And I'm not interested in doing Parisian music ... The music sounds like mine," he tells the mag. "I'm not playing up the Americana elements either. I'm not having pedal steel and fiddle, but it'll be hyper-romantic and playful more than anything."
"Amelie" centers on Tautou's character, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. It was nominated for five Oscars and won two BAFTA Awards.
