13 Going on 30 Musical Adaptation Set From Films Original Writers

Beloved 2004 comedy “13 Going On 30,” which featured Jennifer Garner in the title role, is set to get a musical adaptation from the film’s original writers.

Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa are working on a stage reimagining of the movie, which also starred Mark Ruffalo as the boy next door as well as Andy Serkis as Garner’s boss and Judy Greer as her best friend.

“13 Going On 30 The Musical” is set to premiere next summer with music and lyrics by Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”) and direction by Andy Fickman, who also directed the original stage adaptation of “Heathers the Musical.”

In “13 Going On 30” Garner played Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old girl who fantasizes about skipping the awkward teenage stage and simply waking up at the age of 30 with a fabulous life, apartment and career. When she blows out the candles on her 13th birthday cake, that’s precisely what she wishes for – only to wake up the following morning and find out her wish has actually come true.

But while her picture perfect life as a magazine editor in New York City may be all that she wished for, as Jenna slips fully into her adult life she realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be – and that she’s lost sight of what’s really important.

The stage adaptation, which has been in the works for a number of years, will be produced by theater company Royco (“Police Cops The Musical”), which was founded by Tom de Keyser and Hamish Greer.

“When we poured our middle school pain into the movie ‘13 Going on 30,’ we never quite imagined it would stick around to this day as a rom-com parents show their kids, a Halloween costume, a scene in an Ariana Grande music video, and a teen sleepover staple,” said Goldsmith and Yuspa. “Now we’re thrilled to be bringing our pain across the pond with ‘13 Going on 30 The Musical.’”

“It’s been endlessly fun working with ROYO, Todd Garner, Revolution Studios, composer/lyricists Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, and director Andy Fickman to reinvent this story for the London stage. We can’t wait for a new generation to grab some Razzles and feel thirty, flirty, and thriving.”

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-07-18

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