Theater News

Empire Records Set to Be Adapted Into a Broadway Musical

Zoe Sarnak will write new music and lyrics, and Carol Heikkinen will adapt her 1995 screenplay for the stage.

Kenji Fujishima
Broadway
Zoe Sarnak has been tapped to write new music and lyrics for an upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of the 1995 cult film Empire Records.
Zoe Sarnak has been tapped to write new music and lyrics for an upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of the 1995 cult hit Empire Records.
(© Allison Stock)

Producer Bill Weiner has announced that he has acquired the theatrical stage rights to the 1995 cult hit Empire Records, and that it will soon be turned into a Broadway musical, with the film's original writer, Carol Heikkinen, adapting her screenplay for the stage, and Zoe Sarnak penning new music and lyrics. The musical is aiming for a 2020 premiere in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary.

Empire Records starred Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, Anthony LaPaglia, Robin Tunney, Rory Cochrane, Ethan Embry, and Johnny Whitworth, and was directed by Allan Moyle. The film focused on the eponymous independent record store and the efforts of its young, tight-knit group of music-savvy employees to stop the store from being absorbed by a big chain.

The production's director and additional creative team members will be announced later.