Could a ‘Hidden Figures’ musical be Broadway-bound?

Disney Theatrical Productions have confirmed a 'Hidden Figures' project is in development.

Disney musicals have wowed Broadway audiences for decades, with musicals such as Frozen, Aladdin and The Lion King. But Disney Theatrical Productions has confirmed that a stage adaptation of the film Hidden Figures is in the works.

The Hidden Figures musical is inspired by the 2016 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, which is in turn inspired by Margot Lee Shetterly's non-fiction book. Hidden Figures celebrates the contributions made by African American women to the space race, in particular centering on Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.

The Hidden Figures film cast starred Taraji P. Henson as mathematician Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as NASA supervisor and mathematician Dorothy Vaughan and Janelle Monáe as engineer Mary Jackson. Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge and Kimberly Quinn also star.

Schele Williams will direct Hidden Figures on stage. The rest of the creative team is expected to be made up of Black artists. Casting, a venue and performance dates are to be announced.

Hidden Figures was first teased as a stage production in 2020, as part of a New York Times report. If Hidden Figures opens on Broadway, it would join many plays authored by Black writers, including Chicken & Biscuits, Thoughts of a Colored Man and Lackawanna Blues.

^{Photo credit: Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer in Hidden Figures (Photo by Hopper Stone, courtesy of 20th Century Fox 2000 Pictures)}

^{Article Updated: 11 October 2021}