Following the path laid out by so many movies before her, France's most whimsical waitress is making her way from Montmarte to Broadway. Dan Messé (Hem) is in the midst of bringing the Oscar-nominated French romantic comedy to the stage. Messé has a strong background in musical theatre, and he's been working with playwright Craig Lucas, lyricist Nathan Tysen, and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet on the adaptation.
In an interview with Paste, Messé says he's been a huge fan of the film since its debut; one of Hem's songs is even based on a scene from the movie. Fans of Amélie's renowned score may be a bit disappointed to learn that Messé, though he respects composer Yann Tiersen, is taking the music in a completely different direction.
“It’s like one of the best movie scores there is. It’s one of the reasons why I love the film. But, it’s not what I do. He’s a very different sort of composer than I am. And I’m not interested in doing Parisian music. I don’t think I’m even going to use accordion in my score. The music sounds like mine. But certainly, I’m not playing up the Americana elements either. I’m not having pedal steel and fiddle, but it’ll be hyper-romantic and playful more than anything.”
Messé said he's been working on the production since 2009, and though there is no official release date yet, the first draft will be ready by Labor Day.