Baz Luhrmann to Bring Strictly Ballroom to Broadway

Long ago, well before Moulin Rougeand William Shakespeare's Romeo + Julietput him on the map, Baz Luhrmann swept the Cannes Film Festival awards with his visually fresh comedy Strictly Ballroom. The film, which followed the story of two mismatched ballroom dancers and their underdog journey to try and win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix, is now getting the go-ahead from Luhrmann to be made into a Broadway musical. He's enlisted the help of Global Creatures to realize this project -- a bit of strange choice (they're the producers of the childrens' show Walking with Dinosaurs) but we're sure that Baz has a reason for requesting that they help him fulfill his vision. Luhrmann is no stranger to the stage as he helmed a reinterpretation of Puccini's La Boheme in the 2002-2003 theatre season -- to mostly positive review. Regardless, he has a distinct point of view, and we'd love to see him flex his muscles in the realm of musical theater.

At this time, no announcements have been made regarding cast of creative team (but we could easily envision Broadway songstress Sutton Foster as the fumpy Fran), but it goes without saying that we can't wait to see how the campy cult-classic translates to the stage. If you're unfamiliar with the movie, check out the trailer, above.

-- MAX BERLINGER