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Over the past few years, Ryan Murphy has, for the most part, turned to the terrifying and treacherous — with shows like American Horror Story, Ratched, and American Crime Story. However,  Glee still defines the artists’ earlier days. And, he has not forgotten about his penchant for the on-screen musical. Ryan Murphy will explore his talents in this department once more, with two musical productions set to premiere on Netflix. One will be a movie, while the other will be a limited series. 

Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy | Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff

Ryan Murphy is taking Broadway’s ‘The Prom’ to Netflix

Broadway’s The Prom follows narcissistic Broadway performers on a mission to improve their self-serving public reputations. Afraid to take on any worldly dilemmas too grand — for failure is not an option — they turn to a small town in Indiana where a lesbian teenager faces exclusion from the prom. 

The Broadway performers — all New York City liberals — find their hearts along the way, as does the rest of the town. The musical is a feel-good story with socially relevant themes and a mostly upbeat soundtrack. 

Ryan Murphy’s production includes an all-star lineup. The cast features Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Cordon, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannels, Kerry Washington, and more. The movie is one of Murphy’s most highly anticipated originals as part of his contract with Netflix. The film is slated for a release in December of this year. 

Ryan Murphy is also working on ‘A Chorus Line’

A Chorus Line remains one of the most famous Broadway musicals of all time. The show received 12 Tony Award nominations, and managed to take home nine awards, snagging a win for Best Original Score, Best Director, and more in 1976. 

Ryan Murphy now plans to bring the musical to the screen once more. Yet, unlike the 1985 film, Murphy is planning a limited series on Netflix. According to Playbill, the production will be a 10-part series that pays homage to and expands upon the original source material. 

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Here’s to hoping that the limited series includes the show’s most celebrated numbers. Fans will expect to witness renditions of “Dance, Ten; Looks, Three,” “I Can Do That,” “One,” “The Music and the Mirror,” “What I Did For Love,” and more. It’s likely that Murphy will expand upon the characters’ backstories to reach a 10-episode count, yet too much narrative expansion and the production may lose sight of its specific and captivating focus. 

Hopefully, Murphy brings his musical A-game to both Broadway productions, for one remains a classic destined to be met with high expectations, while the other, a bit more recent, remains fresh in Broadway enthusiasts’ minds.