‘Waking Ned Devine’ Stage Musical In Works With ‘Come From Away’ & ‘Once’ Creators

deadline.com:

A new stage musical based on the 1998 film comedy Waking Ned Devine is being developed with The Color Purple director John Doyle, Come From Away book writer David Hein and Oscar winning Once composers and lyricists Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard.

A production timeline for the Broadway-bound musical will be announced later. In a statement, Doyle said, “Waking Ned Devine attracted me as a funny, heartwarming musical that serves as a timely reminder of the value of community.

The inhabitants of a small Irish village working together, overcoming self-interest and greed, all for the good of their families and neighbors.” Doyle continued, “No one could be better than Markéta and Glen to bring out the musicality in these Celtic characters and David is unmatched in his ability to find the heart and humanity in such a story.” Written and directed by Kirk Jones, the Waking Ned Devine movie was released by Fox Searchlight in 1998 and told the story of a lottery winner and his fellow residents in a small Irish village.

Eager to find ways to share in his newfound wealth, Ned’s friends and neighbors first have to overcome one obstacle: Ned died from shock upon learning of his big win.