Steven Spielberg, Let's Put on a Show! TV Series about a Broadway Musical on Tap

Superstar director Steven Spielberg is developing a series for Showtime about the creation of an original Broadway musical, according to Variety. DreamWorks TV and Showtime envision the scripted show as following the process of writing and producing a new musical from start to finish, with the goal of mounting the show on Broadway after the series runs.

Spielberg has enlisted the Tony-winning composing team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can) to work on the series alongside producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, whose stage-to-screen adaptations have included Hairspray and Chicago and TV versions of Gypsy, Annie and The Music Man.

Variety reports that Spielberg has been developing the concept for a TV-to-stage series for years and hand-picked his collaborators. Showtime’s president, Robert Greenblatt, is a theater lover who recently produced the Broadway musical 9 to 5.

No writing team has been set for the proposed show, which will reportedly incorporate multiple points of view in depicting the creative process and give viewers a peek into the personal lives of the major players. The series could run for more than one season as new productions of the resulting musical are staged.