Obsessed, a New Diane Warren Musical Featuring Taylor Swift's 'Say Don't Go,' Takes Steps Toward Broadway

Obsessed, a new musical about the life of Grammy and Emmy-winning songwriter Diane Warren, set to her biggest hits, has taken its next steps toward Broadway. Press representatives say that "production is underway" and that a production schedule, casting and additional creative team members will be announced soon.

The musical had a developmental workshop in New York City last year, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Wonderful Town, Anything Goes) with a book by two-time Tony winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change). Licensing deals for Warren’s songs—including the recent Taylor Swift hit, “Say Don’t Go”—have been finalized, and the show is being produced for Broadway by former Live Nation chairman Michael Cohl and veteran music producer Irit TenHengel. 

The first songwriter in history to have seven hits on the Billboard charts at the same time—all performed by different artists—Warren was behind such FM radio favorites as DeBarge’s “The Rhythm of the Night,” Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and Celine Dion’s “Because You Love Me.”

Warren grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. A devotee of Top 40 radio from a young age, she started playing guitar at 10 and was dabbling in songwriting by 11. By the age of 14, songwriting had taken over her life. In the late ‘80s and through the ‘90s, Warren’s anthemic, impassioned songs—whether recorded by pop divas, rockers, country singers or adult contemporary artists—ruled the airwaves as well as the cineplex. Her other songs include Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart,” LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live,” the Meat Loaf and Patti Russo duet "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth),” Michael Bolton's "How Can We Be Lovers?" and Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time.”

Warren is a currently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Fire Inside" from the movie Flamin' Hot.