'The Queen's Gambit' musical is coming

It was announced today that the hit Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit, will be adapted into a stage musical by Level Forward.

"It is a privilege for Level Forward to lead the charge of bringing The Queen's Gambit to the stage through the beloved and enduring craft of musical theater. Told through a brave and fresh point of view, audiences are already sharing in the friendship and fortitude of the story's inspiring women who energize and sustain Beth Harmon's journey and ultimate triumph. The story is a siren call amidst our contemporary struggles for gender and racial equity, and we're looking forward to moving the project forward," said Level Forward CEO Adrienne Becker and Producer Julia Dunetz.

Level Forward has garnered 37 Tony Award nominations for Oklahoma! and What The Constitution Means To Me, and most recently, Jagged Little Pill and Slave Play.

The deal was brokered on behalf of the Tevis Family Trust by Susan Schulman of the Susan Schulman Literary Agency, New York and Rachel Gould on behalf of Level Forward.

Beginning in the mid-1950s and proceeding into the 1960s, the story follows the life of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), an orphaned chess prodigy on her rise to the top of the chess world while struggling with drug and alcohol dependency. Netflix released The Queen's Gambit on October 23, 2020. After four weeks it had become Netflix's most-watched scripted miniseries.

The series won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Limited Series or Television Film and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for Taylor-Joy. She also won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

There has been no announcement yet on the creative team for the musical.