Dancer Derek Hough will play Gene Kelly’s 1951 screen role in Broadway’s musical Singin’ in the Rain.
Producer Harvey Weinstein made the announcement Saturday night at his pre-Oscar dinner in Beverly Hills.
Hough was also at the event to perform two songs from the musical. Hough will star as silent screen idol Don Lockwood, who has to make the transition to talkies.
“Singin’ in the Rain” marks the latest Broadway venture for Weinstein, following up his first Broadway project “Finding Neverland.” The stage adaptation of the hit 1952 MGM musical is set to open in the 2016-17 season.
Hough entered the mainstream with his work as a coach in ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” The dancer announced last year that he would leave show after 20 seasons, opening up his schedule for stage work.
Weinstein’s version of the musical is not the first “Singin’ in the Rain” to hit Broadway. It first appeared on Broadway in 1985, directed by Twyla Tharp, and ran for about a year.
The show was revived at the U.K.’s 2011 Chichester Festival Theatre, followed by 2013 U.K. tour.
Weinstein’s “Singin’ in the Rain” will be directed by Robert Carsen and choreographed by Stephen Mear.
