Producer Bill Weiner has acquired the theatrical stage rights to “Empire Records,” with plans to turn it into a Broadway musical.
The musical will be written by Carol Heikkinen, who wrote the screenplay to the 1995 film, with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, writer of the upcoming musical “Afterwords.” The musical plans to premiere in 2020, the 25th anniversary of the film.
Weiner worked as executive vice president and general consul as part of New Regency’s theatrical stage business for 23 years.
The movie centers on an independent record store which is in danger of being sold. A band of employees comes up with a plan to save the store, but runs into obstacles along the way.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia now for those old record stores where you could go and talk to people who loved the same music you loved, and discover new bands. We hope the musical will capture the memory of what it was like to be young in a time before iTunes and Spotify,” Heikkinen said in the press release.
The director and additional members of the creative team will be announced at a later date.
