The next career move from King Princess is an unexpected one – they’ve signed on to star in a Broadway stage adaptation of Girl, Interrupted.
Susanna Kaysen’s 1993 memoir explores the time she spent in a psychiatric institution in the 1960s. It was successfully adapted into a film in 1999 with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder in the lead roles.
Now it’s been adapted into a musical with songs written by Aimee Mann and Pulitzer Prize‑winning playwright Martyna Majok writing the book. The new musical will preview from May 13 at New York’s Public Theater before officially opening on June 4 for a three‑week run.
King Princess will play the role of Lisa, a patient who develops a tumultuous relationship with Susanna. Angelina Jolie played the role in the film version, and it earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Juliana Canfield will take on the role of Susanna. She played the role of Jess Jordan on the television series Succession and also appeared in Y: The Last Man and The Calling.
Katherine Reis will play Daisy, a patient with an eating disorder, while Ta’Rea Campbell will play head nurse Valerie.
The supporting cast includes Leela Bassuk, Gabi Campo, Eileen Doan, Mano Feliciano, Gunnar Manchester, Mia Pak, Anna Roman, Sally Shaw, Emily Skinner, Rachel Stern, and Lauren Jeanne Thomas.
While King Princess has had success in music and also stepped into acting roles, this will be the first time they are combining those worlds in a musical.
The singer spent time in Australia with a foray into acting, appearing in the second series of Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Murray Bartlett, Mark Strong, Henry Golding, and Christine Baranski.
When they spoke to OUTinPerth last year King Princess shared that they found acting to be very similar to songwriting.
“It’s not a dissimilar process to writing a song. You sit down and you’re kind of like pulling these emotions out of yourself. You’re building a character. It’s not unlike building a song. There’s pieces of you, there’s pieces of other people you know, there’s pieces of stories you’ve heard, there’s pieces of real life experiences.
“It’s both super vague and then non-descript, but also really specific, which is like songwriting,” they said.
