Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum Bringing ‘Magic Mike’ to Broadway Stage

“Magic Mike” just opened in theaters yesterday, but a live musical adaptation of the film is already in the works between director Steven Soderbergh and star (and inspiration) Channing Tatum.

The two will work with writer Reid Carolin, and Tatum tells Entertainment Weekly that the idea for a live version of the film began when a costar began singing during filming.

“Matt Bomer started singing some of the songs while he was onstage, and he was like, ‘This would kill as a musical,’” Tatum told the magazine. “That cemented it for me.”

Still, the trio hasn’t decided if the new show will actually include singing.

“We want to do something interactive… so it becomes like ‘Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” Soderbergh said. He also said the adaptation would be different than the film, but would likely use the same characters and take place in a strip club.

The film is based in part on Tatum’s work as a stripper in Tampa when he was in his teens. He told the magazine that he’s not sure yet if he will also appear in the live adaptation.

“I’d love the challenge. I’m a huge fan of stage,” he said. “But if it’s a musical, I’d need a lot of singing classes. I think there’s probably people who are better at it than I am.”

Carolin also spoke about the live version, and said it would be as much about the audience as the performance.

“The musical will be about walking into the club and surrendering yourself to that world for a night,” he said. “We want it to be a place where women can scream at the dancers and throw money.”

In other Soderbergh news, the director is now thinking of turning the rock musical “Cleo,” which was rumored to be in development as a film starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, into a musical.

“I was going to do [“Cleo”] as a movie, but now I want to do it on stage,” Soderbergh explained.