NBC lands Lopez for musical

Jennifer Lopez

NBC in the US has ordered its latest live musical, this time starring singer and former American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez.

Bye Bye Birdie is from Universal Television, with Lopez, Nuyorican Productions’ Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Neil Meron (The Wiz) among those exec producing.

Harvey Fierstein (Hairspray) is writing the show, which is based on the 1960s Broadway musical that starred Dick Van Dyke and follows a rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob performing his last show before being joining the army.

NBC has previously found success with live musicals including The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz and A Few Good Men, with Hairspray Live! due in December, while rival Fox has also broadcast its own live stage version of Grease.

ABC, meanwhile, partnered with prodco Dick Clark Productions in June to develop a live musical event based on a stage show, while the trend has also spread to Europe, with UK commercial broadcaster ITV ordering a live performance of The Sound of Music in 2015.