Spielberg Wants To Put On A Show With Showtime

It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to get things started on the Spielberg show tonight. Yes, Steven Spielberg wants to put on a show. Specifically a show about putting on a show. More specifically, the new series DreamWorks TV and Showtime are developing about a fictional Broadway musical, from initial idea through opening night.

No writers are attached yet, but plenty of other talent is circling the project. Variety says producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Footloose, Hairspray) are in talks to join the project. On the musical front, negotiations are also ongoing with Hairspray composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Every so often over the past decade people have touted the grand return of the movie musical. While there have been some stand-out moments (Moulin Rouge, Dreamgirls), the genre still hasn’t even approached the levels of success and ubiquity it once knew. On the small screen, however, American Idol is a legitimate phenomenon and Glee just got picked up for a full first season. Maybe Spielberg and Showtime will be the spark that finally brings musicals back to the forefront of pop culture (but I’m not holding my breath).