‘Scrubs’ Jumps From TV Screen to Broadway Stage

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence confirmed that a musical based upon the television series was in the works. According to Lawrence, if things go as planned the production could be in a Broadway theatre by 2017.

The idea for a Broadway production of Scrubs came after realizing how popular Scrubs was in the UK. Lawrence stated he felt a musical was a more natural extension of the show because of all of the singing, songwriting, and even the full out musical episode. Plus, he didn’t see the show as the type to be followed up by a movie.

In an interview Lawrence shared, “If I did Scrubs, I would do it as the Legally Blonde or Wicked model. It’s all the same characters. The outline is kind of a mishmash of the pilot episode mushed together with the episode where Mrs. Landingham from The West Wing dies. We’re combining two of our best stories with what we’re allowed to cull and choose from our best comedic moments and fantasies from nine years of the show.”

He went on to say, “We’re negotiating with different theater groups who will hopefully put up the money for a year to pay the composers to develop [spec songs]. Disney has nicely become a silent partner in giving the rights for us to go shop it. And the most fun thing for a theater junkie is we’ve already reached the stage that various composers have been submitting songs based on an outline that we put together for the type of stuff we would do.”

Lawrence also went on to share that Zach Braff, who played Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian, would not star in the production, though he would likely be a part of the creative process as a theater lover himself. However, Lawrence persisted that Broadway musical stars would  be cast in the show.