It's been a big few months forThe Queen's Gambit. The TV show adaptation of Walter Tevis' 1983 novel, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon, hit Netflix in October and has been a streaming sensation ever since.The Queen's Gambitcollected two Golden Globe Awards last month— Best Limited Series and Best Actress in a Limited Series — and picked up two similar awards at the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday. But now that it has succeeded as TV,The Queen's Gambitis next headed for the stage.
Entertainment company Level Forward announced Monday that it has acquired the theatrical stage rights to Tevis' novel and is developing it as a stage musical.
Though chess may not stand out as an obvious musical subject,The Queen's Gambitwill not be the first stage production to revolve around the game.Chess, with music by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, centered around the Cold War chess rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union and first hit London's West End in 1986.