from the screen to the stage

CODA Is Being Adapted Into a Stage Musical

Photo: Apple TV+

CODA, the Oscar-nominated film that has racked up countless awards for Troy Kotsur and won the praise of Joni Mitchell, is being adapted into a stage musical. Per the New York Times, Deaf West Theatre is collaborating with the film’s production companies, Vendôme Pictures and Pathé Films, to bring the work to the stage. “As a Deaf person, I knew from the start that CODA would make a perfect musical,” Deaf West artistic director DJ Kurs said in an email to the Times. “It addresses our relationship with music and how we move through the world of sound like immigrants in a foreign country, learning new, seemingly arbitrary rules on the fly.” This won’t be the company’s first musical; Deaf West has staged five previously, including a 2015 run of Spring Awakening that earned a Tony nomination. Three members of CODA’s cast — Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin, and Kotsur — have performed with Deaf West in the past. If Kotsur reprises his role, it’s entirely possible he’ll EGOT from both sides now.

CODA Is Being Adapted Into a Stage Musical