Gwyneth Paltrow is having a pretty chill but also pretty great 2017. While she’s kept a relatively low profile, acting-wise, she’s likely engaged to her boyfriend, Brad Falchuk, and as of Tuesday, Dec. 12, she’s going to be coproducing a Broadway musical. Rejoice, all you Paltrow fans out there, because soon you’re going to be able to bask in the glory of a musical with the actor’s beautiful Goop-y fingerprints all over it.
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So, what exactly is the new musical Paltrow is coproducing? Well, according to Deadline, the musical will be called Head Over Heels, and it actually features a really interesting (and kinda bonkers) mashup — much like one of the many great Glee episodes she starred in way back when. The synopsis of Head Over Heels indicates the show is “based upon The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney…a tantalizing odyssey wrought with mistaken identities, jealous lovers, romance and scandal. This lavishly quick-witted new musical takes us on an extravagant journey where everything (and everyone) is not quite what it seems.” Oh, and bonus: the songs of ’80s pop girl group The Go-Go’s will serve as the musical portion of Head Over Heels. It definitely sounds like the kind of light, fun romp that would do well on Broadway.
But, uh, what’s the deal with this book, The Arcadia? I decided to do a little digging because I’d never heard of the book before, and folks, it turns out that its full title is The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia and it was written in the late 16th century (yes, 16th) century by an English author and nobleman. So, basically, Paltrow might somehow be helping to channel some Shakespeare in Love vibes into what is presumably an ’80s-tinged romantic comedy musical. Ex-squeeze me?
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I mean, if the plot is truly going to be what is currently being described, an updated Renaissance romantic romp for the Great White Way infused with songs like “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” and the titular “Head Over Heels,” then sure, mash it up. But why these two things? And will it really work? And honestly, who suggested bringing The Arcadia and The Go-Go’s together in the first place? Like, who suggested adapting an obscure late 16th-century novel into a musical and the rest of the creative team was like, “Hell, yeah, let’s do this!”?
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I’m sure all my questions will be answered in due course, but for now, I am confused, intrigued, excited and a variety of other feelings I can’t quite name.
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