Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Stage Musical Units World Premiere

A brand new jukebox stage musical model of the 1985 movie Girls Just Wanna Have Fun will make a world premiere bow at Pittsburgh Playhouse November 11-22. Lively McCabe Entertainment, who has been creating the work, will co-produce with Primary Wave Music and Point Park University.

The partnership will carry college students from Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts into the rehearsal room, with a semester-long pre-production course of, culminating in a full workshop presentation this spring. Jennifer Werner (The Book of Mormon) is directing and choreographing.

The musical, which can function a rating of ’80s hits, is being writtten by M Dickson (How I Met Your Father) and Lauren Marcus. The story, initially written for the display by Amy Spies, follows two teenage women who go in opposition to their household to enter a televised dance competitors. Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt starred within the unique movie. Georgia Stitt is arranging and orchestrating the rating, which can function songs made well-known by Whitney Houston, Huey Lewis and the News, Olivia Newton-John, and Culture Club, together with “Dancing In Heaven” and “I Can Fly” from the movie’s soundtrack.

Following the world premiere, the musical is predicted to affix the licensing catalogue of Music Theatre International as a part of Lively McCabe’s “Hits” Musicals assortment, a sequence of jukebox musicals that makes use of songs from the Primary Wave catalogue of holdings.

“Bringing this iconic movie from display to stage is an exhilarating and difficult puzzle, particularly since sustainable paths for creating new work of this measurement and scope are so restricted,” says Lively McCabe President Allison Bressi in a statement. “In this musical, dance is the primary character, one thing that can not be created whereas sitting behind music stands. We knew instantly: our course of needed to change.

“From our first meeting with Kiesha Lalama and her team at PPU, it was clear that Girls Just Want To Have Fun had finally found the right first home. They love the film—but more importantly, they’re deeply committed to expanding the student experience beyond the classroom. That openness—to new ideas, new processes, and true collaboration—is what makes developing new musicals possible right now. PPU didn’t just say yes; they leaned in. I’m excited for what we are building together—and I hope this is just the start.”

“This is a transformative experience for our students, one that places them inside the professional process from day one,” provides PPU School of Theatre, Film, and Animation Interim Dean Kiesha Lalama. “They are not simply observing; they are actively contributing as performers, technicians, designers, and collaborators. Opportunities like this demystify how new work is created and prepares our students to enter the industry with real-world experience and confidence.”