Samir Hussein/WireImageRyan Murphy has a knack for getting together a star-studded cast, so the ensemble he put together for his Netflix adaptation of the Tony-nominated musical The Prom shouldn't come as a surprise. Yet, here we are, still marveling at this cast that includes Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Ariana Grande.
E! News can confirm Streep, Kidman, Grande, James Corden, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells are all on board the Netflix movie set for a 2020 release. Murphy is set to direct and executive produce under his new Netflix deal. Deadline first reported the news.
Streep, who is currently appearing in Big Little Lies season two opposite Kidman, will play Dee Dee Allen, a Tony winner who teams up with Corden's character Barry Glickman on a big musical…that flops.
To get their careers back on track, they then team up with Angie Dickinson (Kidman) and Trent Oliver (Rannells) to rehabilitate their careers by backing Emma, a high school girl who can't go to her prom because she's gay. Emma has yet to be cast.
Grande will play the daughter of the PTA president, Awkwafina will take on the role of Ms. Sheldon and Key is set to play Streep's love interest, the principal of Emma's high school.
Murphy announced his plans to adapt The Prom from stage to screen in April.
"The Prom is one of the most uplifting, heartfelt and special musicals I have ever seen on Broadway. It's truly an original that celebrates the underdog and says in a loving spectacular way that LGBTQ rights are human rights. I feel a special connection to it because it's set in Indiana, and that's where I grew up, too. I'm thrilled to announce I'm turning it into a MOVIE EVENT for Netflix, and I'm bringing producers @billdamaschkeand @dori.berinstein and the amazing creative team with me -- Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw, Tony Award winner Bob Martin, Tony award nominee @sklarbar73 and Tony Award nominee @Chadbeg," he wrote on Instagram. "See it first at the Longacre Theatre. It has a musical score that will leave you singing for days, a hilarious and moving book and some of the most [show-stopping] direction, choreography and performances I've ever seen on Broadway. @theprommusical"
Murphy already has a few projects in the works at Netflix. There's The Politician starring Ben Platt and Jessica Lange, Ratched starring Sarah Paulson, The Boys in the Band starring Matt Bomer and Jim Parsons and a drama about old Hollywood. His other projects, like Pose, American Horror Story and 9-1-1, will continue as planned.