PRACTICAL MAGIC Musical in Development with Norah Jones and Maria Friedman Attached

A stage musical adaptation of PRACTICAL MAGIC is officially in development, bringing together an impressive creative team led by author Alice Hoffman, Grammy winner Norah Jones, hitmaker Gregg Wattenberg and acclaimed director Maria Friedman.

The new musical is based on Hoffman’s 1995 best selling novel, which was famously adapted into the 1998 Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The film, directed by Griffin Dunne, has since achieved cult status for its mix of romance, witchcraft and sisterly devotion.

Hoffman will collaborate on the book for the musical with playwright Peter Duchan, whose previous credits include the 2013 stage adaptation of Dogfight. Hoffman, whose “Owens family saga” expanded with The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons and The Book of Magic, said the move to musical theatre feels inevitable.

“This story of love and sisterhood is meant for the theatre,” Hoffman said in a statement. “Music is the heart and soul of Practical Magic. Now you will finally hear the story as I always imagined it. You will hear magic.”

Jones and Wattenberg will write the score together, marking the first stage musical for Jones. The singer songwriter broke onto the global scene with her Grammy winning debut album Come Away With Me in 2002 and has since won ten Grammy Awards, selling more than 52 million albums worldwide. Wattenberg brings formidable commercial credentials, having co written and produced multiple Billboard number one hits including Superman (It’s Not Easy), 100 Years, It’s Not Over, and Train’s Grammy winning smash Hey, Soul Sister.

Direction will be handled by Maria Friedman, currently celebrated for her work on the Broadway revival of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Her involvement signals serious theatrical ambition for the project, particularly given her track record of balancing emotional intimacy with musical storytelling.

The musical is being produced by Stephanie and Nicole Kramer alongside Brian and Dayna Lee, by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures. Mark Kaufman, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of WBTV, will serve as creative consultant.

PRACTICAL MAGIC centres on the Owens women, long feared and whispered about in their small Massachusetts town. Orphaned sisters Sally and Gillian are raised by eccentric aunts and grow up determined to escape a family curse that dooms the men they love. As adults, they take divergent paths in an attempt to outrun their legacy, only to be drawn back together by love, tragedy and long buried secrets. The story’s themes of sisterhood, resilience and romantic destiny have sustained its popularity for decades.

The announcement comes as interest in the Owens universe intensifies. A film sequel reuniting Bullock and Kidman is scheduled for release later this year, further expanding the property’s cultural footprint. A stage adaptation could tap into both nostalgia for the 1998 film and the enduring readership of Hoffman’s novels.

For Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, PRACTICAL MAGIC joins a growing slate of high profile stage adaptations. Upcoming projects include musicals based on Crazy Rich Asians, The Lost Boys and Dog Day Afternoon, signalling a strong push to translate screen properties into live theatrical events.

Casting and a production timeline for PRACTICAL MAGIC have yet to be announced. However, with a creative team spanning bestselling literature, Grammy winning pop craft and Olivier and Tony recognised theatre direction, the project arrives with significant industry momentum.

For Australian audiences, the attachment of Nicole Kidman to the original film, coupled with Norah Jones’ global fanbase, is likely to generate strong interest should the musical follow the increasingly common Broadway to West End pathway, and potentially beyond.

For now, PRACTICAL MAGIC remains in development, but with this calibre of collaborators, the spell has clearly already been cast.