NBC
Long-running medical comedy Scrubs may be getting a new life soon — this time on stage. Creator Bill Lawrence is working on developing the show into a musical. We’re absolutely on board, especially if The World’s Most Giant Doctor is involved. Here’s why:
1. Theater nerds are in charge.
Lawrence and star Zach Braff — who will most likely be somehow involved creatively — are self-professed drama dorks. Braff, in fact, is about to start his own Broadway run in the musical version of the Woody Allen backstage comedy Bullets Over Broadway. Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly that he’s in the process of choosing the show’s composer, and “looking at everything from the singer-songwriter hip version that you can say they did with Spring Awakening to the type of sardonic Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson-type stuff.” See? He knows shows! Good ones!
2. The structure is perfect.
What are Broadway musical numbers if not miniature fantasy sequences? And those fantasy and flashback sequences are the guts of Scrubs. J.D.’s inner monologue is just begging to be converted into a series of flashy production numbers. There are also plenty of “real life” musical moments to mine — how about a Greek chorus role for Ted’s barbershop quartet?
3. They’re going to cast the hell out of it.
Lawrence also confirmed for EW that we won’t be seeing Braff, Donald Faison, or Sarah Chalke taking their Sacred Heart characters to the stage. He wants to cast “Broadway musical stars” instead. We love the original team to pieces, but that’s no excuse not to stack the Broadway ensemble with some serious belters. “The reason that I cast Skylar Astin in Ground Floor was to have him close to me,” Lawrence said. If Braff will be succeeded by the Pitch Perfect star (and Broadway vet), we’re fine with it.
4. It already has!
In its sixth season, Scrubs produced a musical episode with songs by the Tony-winning composers of Avenue Q. We love them all, but there’s just something about a guy love between two guys.
