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“Mystic Pizza” Musical in the Works from Melissa Etheridge

"Mystic Pizza": MGM

Good news, ’80s movie fans and lovers of esoteric “30 Rock” references: a “Mystic Pizza” musical is on the way. According to Deadline, Melissa Etheridge will be writing the music for the adaptation and Sas Goldberg will write the book with director Gordon Greenberg. No word on whether the production is headed for Broadway, Off-Broadway, or a regional run.

Julia Roberts’ breakthrough film, 1988’s “Mystic Pizza” centers on the romantic and personal struggles of three young women waitressing at a Mystic, Connecticut pizzeria. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones was inspired by the real Mystic Pizza restaurant, an institution in the New England fishing village and vacation spot. Lili Taylor and Annabeth Gish also star.

“MGM’s ‘Mystic Pizza’ is a seminal film for an entire generation of young people looking to distinguish themselves in a rapidly changing world,” said Greenberg. “Adapting Amy Holden Jones’ original screenplay for the stage with rock icon Melissa Etheridge, a beacon of strength and raw musical energy, and the brilliantly hilarious Sas Goldberg, is a dream collaboration on a story that is as relevant today as it was when we all first experienced it.”

He continued, “[‘Mystic Pizza’ features] three strong young women at its core, and [is] set in a community of immigrants dealing with traditionally limited expectations amid shifting class dynamics.”

Etheridge has released 17 albums — including her self-titled debut, “Brave and Crazy,” and two compilations — in her 30-plus-year career. She’s nabbed 15 Grammy nominations and won the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female prize twice for “The Angels” and “Ain’t It Heavy.” She received the Best Original Song Oscar for “I Need to Wake Up,” from the environmental doc “An Inconvenient Truth.” Etheridge also played St. Jimmy in the Broadway rock opera “American Idiot.”

Goldberg has sold and developed TV scripts to various networks, per Deadline, and co-wrote, produced, and starred in the film “Are You Joking?” Also an actress, she has appeared in Broadway’s “Significant Other,” “Ocean’s 8,” and “You’re the Worst,” among other projects. You can catch her next in Lifetime’s upcoming “American Princess” series from creator Jamie Denbo and producer Jenji Kohan. The drama is about a romantically spurned socialite who joins the Renaissance Faire.

Holden Jones’ credits also include “Indecent Proposal.” She created ABC’s “Black Box” and co-created Fox medical drama “The Resident.”


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