Amanda Seyfried has high praise for the in-development Thelma & Louise Broadway musical. Thelma & Louise was originally conceived and produced as a movie, with Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator) directing a script written by Callie Khouri (ABC’s/CMT’s Nashville). The film was released in 1991 to major acclaim and has since made an indelible mark on pop culture; thanks in part to homages and parodies, the movie’s iconic ending is known even to those who haven’t seen the original version.

The Thelma & Louise Broadway adaptation has been in the works for years, but only in early 2023 entered the workshop phase. Seyfried stars in the musical as Thelma alongside Evan Rachel Wood’s Louise, and in fact was unable to accept the Golden Globe she won for her in Hulu’s true story miniseries because she was busy on the musical. Seyfried touched on the musical recently, heaping praise on the songs and suggesting it elevates an already-beloved classic. Here’s what she had to say:

Amanda Seyfried: I'm physically ready to sing now. I know how scary it is to be on stage; I've done it, and it's going to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and I'm totally ready for it. You're not going to believe the music. You're not going to believe it! Any fans of Thelma & Louise won't ever think that anything was missing from the perfect movie until you experience even a slice of what I'm experiencing. You're like, "Oh, my God! I guess it was missing something. It was missing the music.”

What We Know About The Thelma & Louise Musical

News broke of a musical in development in 2021, with original screenwriter Callie Khouri attached, alongside a team of collaborators. In what should prove to be an inspired choice, singer-songwriter Neko Case (“I Wish I Was the Moon”) was reportedly enlisted to write the music. Not much new information has been revealed since then, though Seyfried shared this exciting update:

The update is that we are very soon going into our second workshop. I didn't realize how long the process was of creating a musical. It takes years; these people have been working on it for years, and now that the actors are involved, it's still going to take years. But hopefully not before too long.

The development of a musical is a notoriously long process; it’s not uncommon for a show’s journey from conception to execution to take over a decade. According to statements by the show’s respective creators, Hamilton took seven years to find its way to the stage, The Book of Mormon required the same, and Hadestown premiered after roughly fifteen years. Still, the fact that Thelma & Louise is going into its second workshop is encouraging indeed.