Overview
The flashy girl from Flushing is headed to Broadway, with beloved sitcom The Nanny making the leap from the small screen to the New York theatre scene. Of course, the protagonist of the 90s series is no stranger to the latter circles. For six seasons between 1993–98, the show charted the chaos that followed when Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) knocked on the door of British-born Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) and nabbed a job looking after his three children.
Thanks to the theme song that you likely now have stuck in your head, you should remember The Nanny's overall premise: working in a bridal shop in Queens, Fran was dumped by her boyfriend, started selling cosmetics, then scored her new gig — because she had style, flair and she was there. Across 146 episodes, the series followed the aftermath as kids Maggie (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) and Grace (Madeline Zima) all adjusted to her presence. Mr Sheffield fell for Ms Fine's charms, his business partner CC Babcock (Lauren Lane) was unimpressed and butler Niles (Daniel Davis) welcomed the change.
Sitcom co-creators Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson are behind the new stage version of the show, alongside Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom and executive music producer Adam Schlesinger. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical's Marc Bruni is set to direct — but the musical's cast, as well as when it'll actually hit the stage, is yet to be revealed.
We do know that Drescher won't be reprising her famous role. In a statement, she said "of course I would do it myself, but we'd have to change the title to 'The Granny'", Variety reports.
As well as its existing narrative links to Broadway, The Nanny also featured plenty of gags about musicals Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady — and that catchy theme song — so there's plenty of material to work with. If you need a refresher, all six seasons are currently streaming in Australia on Stan.
The Nanny is the latest screen favourite to earn a stage adaptation, following in the footsteps of Bring It On, Mean Girls, The Bodyguard, Amelie, Waitress, Muriel's Wedding, Moulin Rouge!,Mrs Doubtfire andMagic Mike. A stage version of The Devil Wears Prada is also in the works, as are theatre adaptations of Empire Records, The Notebook, The Princess Bride and Aussie classic Starstruck.
Via Variety.