Chicago is set to host a pre-Broadway tryout of a musical adaptation of “The Princess Bride,” with the swashbuckling romance opening at the James M. Nederlander Theatre for a five-week run from July 19 through August 22, 2027. Lead producer Jeffrey Seller called it the largest stage production he has ever produced, according to reporting cited by BroadwayWorld.
The Loop engagement, detailed by WBEZ Chicago, brings the story of Westley and Buttercup — and the fictional land of Florin, complete with a sweet-natured giant, a Spanish swordsman and a six-fingered scoundrel — to the stage for the first time. The musical is based on William Goldman's novel and Rob Reiner's 1980s fantasy film, and the book is credited to Tony winner Bob Martin and Tony nominee Rick Elice, the outlet reports. Group tickets for 10 or more are already on sale, with individual tickets set to go on sale next month, per the same report.
Two Decades in Development Hell
Getting “The Princess Bride” to the stage has been a two-decade odyssey. Efforts to adapt Goldman's 1973 novel into a musical date back to 2006, when Goldman first partnered with Tony-winning composer Adam Guettel before that collaboration collapsed over profit-sharing disputes, according to the r/movies community's compiled reporting. The project then spent years under Disney Theatrical passing through different creative teams, including composer David Yazbek.
That current team pairs husband-and-wife songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, two-time Oscar winners for “Let It Go” from Frozen and “Remember Me” from Coco, with Robert Lopez being the youngest person to complete an EGOT, according to Warner/Chappell Music. Martin and Elice bring established comedy credentials of their own, with Martin associated with “The Drowsy Chaperone” and Elice with “Jersey Boys,” per AllMusic.
Tony-Winning Director and Recent Workshops
Directing duties fall to Alex Timbers, who won a Tony Award for staging “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tom Kitt serving as music supervisor, according to BroadwayWorld's earlier coverage. The show has already been workshopped once this year: an early-2026 industry session featured Alex Brightman as Billy the grandson, Erika Henningsen as Princess Buttercup and Jonathan Hadary as Grampa, the outlet reported. The cited coverage also discusses further development of the show.
A Historic Loop Stage With a Tryout Pedigree
The Nederlander Theatre itself carries plenty of theater history. The 2,200-seat venue, now called the Nederlander Theatre, opened in 1926 as the Oriental Theatre, according to Theatre in Chicago. The venue's theater history is detailed by the same source. Broadway in Chicago is referenced in a BroadwayWorld forum account.
Seller's own résumé adds weight to the announcement. His Broadway catalog includes “Rent,” “In the Heights” and “Hamilton,” and he is the only producer in theater history to mount two Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals, according to WBEZ. His productions have collectively earned 22 Tony Awards, per the same report.
The source material itself has an underdog streak worth remembering. Reiner's 1987 film, written by Goldman based on his own novel, slowly evolved into a generational cult favorite, according to a Wikipedia summary of the film's history. That slow-burn path to icon status now mirrors the musical's own long road to the stage, one that has stretched across about two decades before finally landing in Chicago's Loop.
Several questions remain unresolved ahead of the tryout, including how much of Goldman's meta-narrative framing will carry over to the stage and which Broadway theater is being eyed for a possible transfer, per BroadwayWorld's reporting.
