Jason Alexander, Nikki M. James & Jayne Houdyshell to Star in Film Adaptation of Lucky Stiff

Tony Award winner Jason Alexander has signed on to star in a film adaptation of Lucky Stiff, according to Variety. Directed by Christopher Ashley (Memphis, Leap of Faith) and choreographed by Joey Pizzi (Burlesque), the film will begin production in mid-June in Southern California. The cast of Lucky Stiff also features Tony Award winner Nikki M. James, two-time Tony nominee Jayne Houdyshell and Dominic Marsh.

Lucky Stiff centers on a lonely English bachelor who stands to inherit a fortune from his recently deceased uncle. Unfortunately, this involves squiring his uncle's corpse on a whirlwind vacation to Monte Carlo, where several other parties have their eyes on the same inheritance. 

The musical, based on Michael Butterworth's 1965 novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, was written by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty and was first performed at off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons with a cast featuring Mary Testa and Julie White. Ahrens has adapted the play for the screen, while Flaherty and Ahrens have written additional songs.

Alexander is a Tony winner for Jerome Robbins' Broadway and has also appeared in Accomplice, Broadway Bound, The Rink and Merrily We Roll Along. He is best known for his nine seasons as George Costanza on TV's Seinfeld. James made her Broadway debut in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and won a Tony Award for her current role as Nabalungi in The Book of Mormon. Houdyshell’s Broadway credits include Wicked, Well, Bye Bye Birdie, The Importance of Being Earnest and Follies. Marsh is best known for his role as Smitty in the BBC series Doctors and appeared in the West End production of The Women in Black.

Lucky Stiff is being produced by New Oz Prods.' Victor Syrmis and Branded Pictures Entertainment's J. Todd Harris. Mark Moran will co-produce.