Jodi Picoult’s novels have served as the source material for Cameron Diaz-starrer “My Sister’s Keeper” and Britt Robertson-led “The Tenth Circle,” among other features and TV movies. The best-selling author is set to conquer another medium: the stage. Her best-selling novel “Between the Lines,” co-written with her daughter, Samantha Van Leer, is heading for Off Broadway, Deadline confirms. The musical will begin performances on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 with an official opening in May 2020 at the Tony Kiser Theater at Second Stage.
Published in 2012, “Between the Lines” centers on a 15-year-old outsider who finds comfort in a book for younger children. “As she reads, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur as one of the characters starts speaking to her,” the source details.
The musical adaptation of “Between the Lines” made its world premiere at Kansas City Rep in 2017. Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure”) wrote the music and lyrics.
“At the heart of good theater is a story worth telling,” said “Between the Lines” producer Daryl Roth. “When I first read this book by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer, I was captivated and felt it had the potential to become a beautiful musical. I am always drawn to material that sheds light on women’s stories, and encourages my daughter’s and granddaughters’ generations to find their own strength, truth, and confidence.”
“Between the Lines'” Off Broadway announcement describes the project as “an empowering and enchanting new musical for anyone who has ever sought to find their place in the world.”
Picoult has repeatedly called out sexism and hypocrisy in the publishing industry and among literary critics. “If a woman had written ‘One Day’ [by David Nicholls], it would have been airport fiction,” she’s observed. “Look at ‘The Marriage Plot’ by Jeffrey Eugenides. If I had written that, it would have had a pink, fluffy cover on it. If Jenny Eugenides had written it, it would have had a pink, fluffy cover on it. What is it about? It’s about a woman choosing between two men. What is ‘The Corrections’ about, by Jonathan Franzen? It’s about a family, right? And I’m attacking gun control and teen suicide and end-of-life care and the Holocaust, and I’m writing women’s fiction? I mean, I can’t tell you. When people call ‘The Storyteller’ chick-lit, I actually break up laughing. Because that is the worst, most depressing chick-lit ever.”
