A Broadway musical version of Crazy Rich Asians is being developed by director Jon M. Chu, who helmed the 2018 romantic comedy based on Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan’s best-selling 2013 novel.

Kwan’s book trilogy and the film will provide the basis for the stage adaptation, which features a book by Leah Nanko Winkler, music by Helen Park and lyrics by Amanda Green and Tat Tong.

The plot follows a Chinese-American maths professor named Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young, for a wedding – only to discover that his family is filthy rich. Cultures clash and their relationship is threatened when Nick’s stern mother, Eleanor, disapproves of Rachel.

The film, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh, was a hit and went on to gross US$239 million (S$325 million) globally.

The Crazy Rich Asians musical marks Chu’s first foray into Broadway. The 44-year-old American film-maker has already earned the reputation of being Hollywood’s go-to person to direct musical movies.

Chu, who broke out with the dance film Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), is helming the two-part film adaption of the popular musical Wicked. The movie stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Yeoh, and Part One is scheduled to open in Singapore cinemas on Nov 28.

In 2021, Chu took the award-winning stage musical In The Heights to the big screen. He is also set to direct the movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.