Most people know Jodi Picoult as the busy writer of over 25 bestselling books, including “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Small Great Things,” and “The Pact.” But recently, she collaborated on a musical production of one of her own novels — and the resulting show, “Between the Lines,” is just the first of several theater projects she’s been involved in.
Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:
In the new episode of “Stagecraft” diverseTheatrical podcast, the author explained why she couldn’t get enough of writing musicals. “It was great to understand the joy of collaborating as a writer,” she said. “When you write a novel, you feel so lonely. Having all those other minds to work on is just such a fun experience. I wasn’t ready to stop.”
So she continued to cooperate. At the height of the pandemic, she and co-author of “Between the Lines” Timothy Allen MacDonald, along with five different bands of songwriters, released the digital musical “Breathe.” Later this year, her musical adaptation of “The Book Thief” (written in collaboration with MacDonald and songwriters Kate Anderson and Elisa Samsell) is released in the UK, and the quartet of creators have the right to edit the 2007 novel “Austenland” turned into 2013 movie for theater.
For now, though, the focus is on “Between the Lines,” based on the 2012 YA novel she wrote with her daughter Samantha Van Leer. Picoult said she was aiming for “Between the Lines,” and now plays at the Tony Kaiser Theater on Off Broadway with a focus on Broadway, for a specific demographic spot.
“This is not a children’s show,” she explained. “The book was written for a middle-grade audience, and we intentionally made it musical. … I thought there was a world where we could tell a story to an audience that fell into the pocket of 18-year-olds obsessed with musical theater, even their mothers who still yearned for Mr. Darcy. [of “Pride and Prejudice”]. But it’s also entertaining enough that you can bring your kids too, as well as your grandmother. I love that we were able to create something that I think appeals to a very wide range.”
Also on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Picoult talks about mother-daughter stories on Broadway, the tribulations of COVID-19 and the long-running teen theater group she co-founded in New Hampshire.
To listen to the full conversation, listen to the link above or download “Stagecraft” and subscribe to podcasting platforms including Apple PodcastAnd the spotify and the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes of Stagecraft are released every two weeks.
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