‘Groundhog Day’ Musical Coming Soon, Producer Scott Rudin Withdraws

A stage musical version of Groundhog Day, the hit 1993 comedy film starring Bill Murray and directed by Harold Ramis, is currently slated to open in London this summer. Veteran Broadway producer Scott Rudin was set to oversee the show's eventual transfer to Broadway, but he has now reportedly withdrawn from the project.

In an email communiqué obtained by Broadway World, the 57-year-old theatrical and film producer explained that certain circumstances of the upcoming show's production have forced him to take leave of the musical, though he harbors no enmity for the cast or crew:

"The production in New York is going to be a transfer of the London production, which is not how we had originally conceived the project when I joined it. The more it evolved, the more it felt that there was no way for me to do what I like to do, so I asked to withdraw. Not every ideal show happens in the ideal circumstances for everyone involved. I wish them well with it. It's a great show."

Rudin got his start in television and film before he began producing theatrical works on the Great White Way. He is one of the few producers to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, and he has produced such hit movies as No Country for Old Men, Moneyball and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He served as executive producer on 1999's South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

Rudin recently explained to NPR that his deep reverence for the theater stopped him from producing theatrical works any earlier, preferring to start his career in recorded entertainment:

"I have a deeply passionate interest in the theater, which made me worry that I wouldn't be good at it. So it took me a long time to want to produce in the theater because I was afraid of it -- I was afraid that I would be too in love with something to be good for it. What I learned was I was wrong about that, and at the same time, that my love for it has an actual prove-able value."

Check out a hilarious scene from the legendary film Groundhog Day below.

TagsGroundhog Day, Scott Rudin, Bill Murray