The New Shakespeare Musical

One of my heroes, the playwright Tom Stoppard, wrote the script of the movie "Shakespeare In Love". He also wrote a stage version which he did not like at all. Today Disney Theatrical Productions and the London impresario Sonia Friedman open a stage musical adaptation of the film in London's West End. The libretto was created by the playwright Lee Hall, a Tony winner for the book for “Billy Elliot the Musical,” another screen-to-stage work. The production includes 28 actors and musicians, one of the largest casts ever for a West End play. There is also a dog. If the play is a hit at the Noël Coward Theater tonight, the producers will undoubtedly consider mounting a production on Broadway next.