Tim Minchin Says His Musical Version of Groundhog Day Will Have 'Cool Tunes and Lots of Gags'

He mustn't keep his audience waiting! Tony nominee Tim Minchin, the Australian musician and comedian who wrote the score for the stage version of Matilda, confirmed on his blog that he's ready to do the same thing with the 1993 cult classic film Groundhog Day. As previously reported, Minchin will be collaborating with the movie's original scriptwriter Danny Rubin and Matilda director Matthew Warchus.

"Our version of Groundhog Day is going to be both instantly recognizable, and utterly different," Minchin blogged. "The central conceit is perfectly suited to the theater, in my opinion. In fact, I think many of its ideas could be enhanced by the stage. It has the potential to be complex, dark, visually fascinating, and thematically rich, whilst still being a joyous romantic comedy with cool tunes and lots of gags."

Groundhog Day follows TV weather man Phil (played by Bill Murray in the film), who reluctantly goes to cover the story of Punxsutawney Phil for the third year in a row. Making no effort to hide his frustration, he covers the story and moves on, expecting his job to be finished. However, he awakes the "following" day and discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and the fun happens again and again and again. He soon realizes he must take advantage of it in order to secure the love of a coworker.

Minchin added that the idea of a Groundhog Day musical is not new: Stephen Sondheim was reportedly working on a stage version of the movie "five or ten years ago". "It got put on the backburner and he [Sondheim] is happy that we're making a go of it," he wrote. "We have Steve’s blessing—and it’s a blessing I value enormously." Minchin revealed that they're aiming for a summer workshop of the new musical and hope to have it ready for the stage in a couple of years.