*Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd’s 1983 comedy “Trading Places” is being turned into a stage musical starring “Freestyle Love Supreme‘s” Aneesa Folds in Murphy’s role with Bryce Pinkham portraying Aykroyd’s character.
Here’s more from Deadline:
With a book by Reno 911! actor and writer Thomas Lennon, direction by Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, A Soldier’s Play) and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (Broadway’s First Date), Trading Places will debut at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre on May 25, running through June 26.
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In addition to Folds and Pinkham, the cast, per the report, includes Marc Kudisch (Girl From the North Country) and Lenny Wolpe (Bullets Over Broadway) as Mortimer and Randolph Duke (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy in the movie), and McKenzie Kurtz (Frozen), Josh Lamon (The Prom), Don Stephenson (Trouble in Mind) and Joe Montoya, who plays Phil, the musical’s apparent reinterpretation of the movie’s Ophelia (played by Jamie Lee Curtis).
“I am so excited to come home with this world-class cast and creative team and a new musical that I know will resonate and be embraced by the Atlanta community,” said Leon in a statement. “With Trading Places, we’re exploring the idea of what would happen if we all traded places with someone else, even for a day, literally putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s relevant; it’s uplifting; everyone will feel heard and represented. And you’re going to laugh, a lot! It’s the perfect play for right now.”
In Murphy’s film directed by John Landis, he plays a broke con-man named Billy Ray Valentine who, as a social experiment, swaps places with Aykroyd, who is a wealthy commodities broker. For the musical, Billy Ray is actually a woman, reimagined as Billie Rae.
The musical’s creative team also includes famed choreographer Fatima Robinson.
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