Magic Mike, this summer’s hit film starring Channing Tatum, may soon become a Broadway musical. The film loosely chronicles Tatum’s experiences as a male stripper when he was nineteen in Tampa, Florida.
The musical adaptation is planned to debut in the summer of 2013. Tatum and Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh will produce this project alongside Reid Carolin, Gregory Jacobs, and Nick Wechsler. Carolin, who is Tatum’s partner in Iron Horse Entertainment, penned the film’s screenplay. He is also scheduled to write the book for the Broadway musical.
Channing Tatum held odd jobs before finding professional acting gigs. At a local nightclub in Tampa, Tatum worked as an exotic dancer under the name “Chan Crawford.” He was discovered by an agent and began a modeling career. After appearing in both music videos and television, Tatum’s film career began. Tatum starred in hit films such as She’s the Man, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Dear John, and 21 Jump Street.
Matt Bomer, Tatum’s co-star in Magic Mike, is the man behind the idea for this stage adaptation. In Entertainment Weekly, Tatum states, “Matt Bomer started singing some of the songs while he was onstage, and he was like, ‘This would kill as a musical.’ That cemented it for me.” The movie includes pop songs such as “It’s Raining Men” and “Like a Virgin.” No word yet if these songs will be in the musical.
Bomer, of White Collar fame, discussed the movie and the importance of cast bonding with After Elton. He said, “…we just had such a great time and I’ll tell you, if you ever want to build an ensemble between a cast of male actors, make them all hang out with each other in thongs and it’s like instant ‘Band of Brothers.'” If these types of conditions create a strong ensemble, then this will bode well for the Broadway version.
The film focuses on the friendship between Tatum’s character, “Magic Mike,” as he schools The Kid, played by Alex Pettyfer, in the art of exotic dancing. Pettyfer’s character is a recent college football-scholarship dropout taken under Magic Mike’s wing.
Other cast members of this Full Monty-esque movie include Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, and Joe Manganiello. It has not been reported if these stars will appear in the musical adaptation. Tatum is not sure if he will make his Broadway debut. On ContactMusic.com, he stated, “I’d need a lot of singing lessons.”
Both Tatum and Carolin hope the Broadway musical will have an interactive feel to it. In Entertainment Weekly, Carolin stated, “The musical will be about walking into the club and surrendering yourself to that world for a night. We want it to be a place where women can scream at the dancers and throw money.”
In USA Today, Carolin continued, “…more of a romp, more of a fun night out at a club with a story. I’m almost more excited about that than the movie because I think it’s the perfect thing for women to go see on Broadway, to be participants in the show.”
So far the movie, made on a budget of $7 million, has so far grossed over $97.7 million according to Box Office Mojo.
