Hit Netflix show ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ will be making a new move — to the stage.
The popular series is about an orphaned girl who discovers that she’s a chess prodigy, but grapples with addiction and a troubled family life. Actress Anya Taylor-Joy starred as Beth Harmon on the show, which is based on a book by Walter Tevis.
Production company Level Forward has won the rights to Tevis’ 1938 novel and it is being reported that they’ll be turning Beth’s story into a musical. The company is known for co-producing four Broadway shows in 2019: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me,’ ‘Slave Play,’ ‘Jagged Little Pill’ and a revival of ‘Oklahoma!’
“It is a privilege for Level Forward to lead the charge of bringing ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ to the stage through the beloved and enduring craft of musical theatre,” said Level Forward CEO Adrienne Becker and producer Julia Dunetz, according to Variety. “Told through a brave and fresh point of view, audiences are already sharing in the friendship and fortitude of the story’s inspiring women who energise and sustain Beth Harmon’s journey and ultimate triumph. The story is a siren call amidst our contemporary struggles for gender and racial equity, and we’re looking forward to moving the project forward.”
Not much else is known about the project, but going by how well the seven-episode Netflix miniseries did, it’s likely that a stage production would be well received.
Four weeks after it released on October 23, 2020, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries with over 62 million viewers. In February, the show won a Golden Globe for Best Limited Series or Television Film, while Taylor-Joy was named Best Actress — Limited Series or Television Film.
