10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 teen rom com adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew. The film was written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith. It stars Julia Stiles as Katarina “Kat” Stratford, the titular “shrew” of the Taming of the Shrew story. Heath Ledger stars opposite Stiles as Patrick Verona (the contemporary version of Shakespeare’s Petruchio).
Similar to the Shakespeare source material, Patrick is tasked with wooing the headstrong, “difficult” Kat so that Kat’s more easy-going/”desirable” sister Bianca is allowed to date. In The Taming of the Shrew, Katarina must be married before Bianca can be married. In 10 Things I Hate About You, Bianca is not allowed to go to prom unless Katarina also goes. As you might expect from a Shakespeare comedy, humor, romance, and hijinks ensue. And we can wait to relive it all on the stage with new original songs.
The 10 Things I Hate About You musical is in its early stages, but we already have some exciting details about the creative team behind the project. Lena Dunham, the Golden Globe-winning creator of HBO’s Girls is attached to co-write the book with acclaimed playwright Jessica Huang, whose works include Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters and Mother of Exiles.
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Carly Rae Jepsen, the Canadian singer/songwriter behind hits like “Call Me Maybe” and “Cut to the Feeling,” will be co-writing the score with Grammy-winning producer Ethan Gruska. Gruska has worked with artist such as Phoebe Bridgers, Ryan Beatty, Bon Iver, Remi Wolf, Conan Gray, and John Legend.
The upcoming musical will also be directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon (Center Stage, An American in Paris, MJ the Musical). Two-time Tony Award winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, If/Then, Jagged Little Pill) is on board for music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations. Mike Bosner (Shucked) will produce.
No news on when the musical is aiming to premiere, but we are already seated.