Did anybody else feel like Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 dramedy Magic Mike–the story of male performers at a heterosexual strip club with Cirque-du-Soleil-level choreography, multiple costume changes and pyrotechnics showcasing an outstanding level of creative effort and job devotion, with no expense spared, yet set at the height of the recession–was almost too close to our imaginary universe of Channing Tatum?
I am very happy to inform you that yes, Magic Mike is the true story of Channing Tatum’s life, which will be the focus of the upcoming Broadway musical version. On Thursday night, lyricist Brian Yorkey told the Hollywood Reporter that the play will be the prequel, what he calls “Magic Mike .5,” showing Tatum’s evolution from a newbie to an expert dancer.
As devotees know, Magic Mike has already inspired the sequel Magic Mike XXL, and Tatum went on to conceive a live Vegas show which he calls a gentleman’s club “for women,” “a sizzling 360 degree dance and acrobatic strip tease spectacular guaranteed to bring on the heat.”
This iteration promises to combine elements of “the heat” with the emotional core of Channing Tatum, which remains a mystery. “There’s an awful lot of beefcake,” Yorkey says, “but it also has heart.”
And a whole lot of dicks! The musical is set for spring 2018.
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