Carly Rae Jepsen and Lena Dunham are developing a Broadway musical adaptation of the 1999 teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You." Jepsen will compose the score while Dunham handles book and lyrics. This marks Jepsen's return to Broadway over a decade after her 2014 performance as Cinderella in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical. At that time, Jepsen was riding high from "Call Me Maybe" and her critically acclaimed album "E.MO.TION." Now she shifts from performer to composer, bringing her distinctive pop sensibility to a property beloved by millennials.
The 1999 film, based loosely on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," starred Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger and became a cultural touchstone for the generation that came of age in the late 1990s. The property has already spawned stage adaptations, but this Broadway version represents the first major musical theater treatment. Dunham, known for her work on the HBO series "Girls," brings her voice as a writer and cultural commentator to the project.
The pairing captures a specific moment in entertainment where beloved youth media franchises increasingly migrate to Broadway stages. Recent years have seen musicals based on "Mean Girls," "Six," and "Hadestown," among others. The Jepsen-Dunham collaboration taps into both nostalgia and contemporary pop sensibility, with Jepsen's expertise in infectious melodies potentially offering the musical some commercial potential.
For theater insiders, this announcement also signals the continued relevance of properties from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The timing suggests producers believe audiences will embrace a musical take on teen-comedy material, particularly when helmed by creators with strong cultural currency. Neither Jepsen nor Dunham have yet announced casting or production timelines, though Broadway insiders will watch closely for developments.