Almost a decade after the popular teen drama aired its final episode, ‘The O.C.’ is up for a musical adaptation with Jordan Ross taking on the directorial duties.
Produced by Lindsey Rosin, the musical will be a one-night-only event that will be carried out on Aug. 30 in Los Angeles, as reported by Variety.
Autumn Reeser will reportedly join the musical but will not be reprising her role as high school student Taylor Townsend. Instead, the 34-year-old actress has signed on as Julie Cooper- Sandy and Kirsten Cohen’s next door neighbor.
While Reeser made her first appearance on ‘The O.C.’ in season three, the musical version of the well-loved series takes place before Taylor was introduced, hence the absence of Reeser’s character in the new adaptation.
Although casting has not been finalized, certain parts have already been filled, including Luke Ward, who will be played by Disney’s Drew Seeley, and Kirsten Cohen, who will be potrayed by Christine Lakin from ‘Step by Step.’ Rick Cosnett, who appears on ‘The Flash,’ has also joined the cast as Sandy Cohen.
‘The O.C.’ creator Josh Schwartz has signed on for the production, although he will not be up for a singing role.
The musical will feature iconic tracks from the TV show that will bring on a lot of memories from the 2000’s, including that of Death Cab for Cutie, Imogen Heap, Mazzy Star and, naturally, Phantom Planet.
After debuting in 2003, the Fox drama aired for four seasons until 2007, and also starred Ben McKenzie as Ryan Atwood, Adam Brody as Seth Cohen, Rachel Bilson as Summer Roberts and Mischa Barton as Marissa Cooper.
Meanwhile, good news continue to roll for pop-culture nostalgia as writer-director Amy Heckerling, who previously worked on popular comedy ‘Clueless,’ has confirmed upcoming plans for a Broadway adaptation of the movie.
"I've written what they call 'the book,' and it's a jukebox musical," Heckerling said, explaining that the adaptation process is far from finished.
"Everything goes so slowly," she said. "I thought movies took a long time."
Speculations about the ‘Clueless’ production had gone viral since last year, when Heckerling told the media that pop star Katy Perry had expressed interest in taking on the lead female role of Cher.
Several high-profile musical adaptations have also been announced over the past months, such as ‘Cheers,’ ‘School of Rock,’ ‘Groundhog Day’ and True Blood.