A new musical is brewing, and it’s got magic in spades.
The bestselling novel Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, which also inspired a 1998 film with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, is making its way to the stage.
Norah Jones and Gregg Wattenberg, both Grammy winners, are set to deliver an original score. Alice Hoffman herself teams up with Peter Duchan for the book, and Maria Friedman is on board to direct. Mark Kaufman will act as Creative Consultant for the production.
Alice shared her excitement about the project, stating, “I’m so excited to be working with my amazing collaborators on bringing Practical Magic to the stage. This story of love and sisterhood is meant for the theater.
“Music is the heart and soul of Practical Magic, you can hear it as you read the book, even though it isn’t there. Now you will finally hear the story as I always imagined it. You will hear magic.”
Practical Magic follows the story of Sally and Gillian Owens who, after being orphaned, are raised by their quirky aunts in a small Massachusetts town.
Over two centuries, the family’s mysterious legacy looms over them – as the sisters try to outrun an ancestral curse and eventually confront what it really means to belong.
The book was released in 1995 and became a hit, leading to the cult favorite film adaptation three years later. Alice expanded the Owens family’s story with three additional novels, most recently The Book of Magic in 2021.
This new stage adaptation is landing just as interest in Practical Magic is bubbling up again. Warner Bros. recently announced a sequel to the film, set for release in September 2026.
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