Magic Mike Musical Will Zoom In on Channing Tatum's Personal Stripper Stories

That Magic Mike musical is still bumping and grinding its way to the stage. Lyricist Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal) has revealed the eagerly anticipated tuner will actually take inspiration from more of film star Channing Tatum's real experiences as a Florida stripper. 

“We’re doing the prequel,” Yorkey recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s like Magic Mike .5, the story of how Mike became Magic Mike, how he got his name, which really is based on Channing’s stories.” Tatum's pre-Hollywood gig as a stripper inspired the plot for the 2012 film Magic Mike and its subsequent movie Magic Mike XXL. “Channing’s been really involved,” said Yorkey. “He’s been at all of the readings and workshops.”

Yorkey went on to describe a few of the numbers fans can look forward to in the musical. "There’s a really great stripping sequence in the first act, which is where you see Mike start off his first strip and it’s a total disaster,” he said. "There will certainly be hot guys, but we also have a great number of Mike’s girlfriend and her sorority sisters at the top of act two. There’s an awful lot of beefcake, but it also has heart.”

As previously announced, Tom Kitt, Yorkey and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa have been working on a tuner, which has received workshops featuring Hamilton's Christopher Jackson and John Rua, Anastasia leading man Derek Klena and Mean Girls queen bee Taylor Louderman.