Harold is making his way to bask under the lights of Broadway. Today, TEG+ productions has announced that they’ve gained the stage rights to the classic children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon and are following through with plans to give it the song and dance makeover. The project will be helmed by bandmates and brothers, Jack and Ryan Met of the indie-pop group, AJR, who will tell an entirely new story surrounding the boy through song. As of right now, TEG+ has not added a writer for the project’s book. The new piece will follow Harold as a young adult as he begins to take on the world without his trusty purple crayon by his side.
The acquisition news follows an earlier reveal that the production company is creating a limited TV series centered around the life of The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, titled, The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story. Although there are several other productions diving into the life and times of the notorious manager, TEG+ says that they are the only company to currently hold the music rights that would be needed to tell the musical pioneer’s story. Along with these two fresh pieces in the works, TEG+ also has several other irons in the fire with a total of ten productions coming out sometime soon.
In the original book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, which was penned by Crockett Johnson and published in 1955, the story follows a 4-year-old boy who uses his imagination (and his handy purple crayon) to bring to life incredible worlds around him. The first of what would be a seven-book series, Harold and the Purple Crayon soon became a household name. Along with the stage adaptation of a new take on Harold, the popularity of the original book is making a comeback. In 2021, it was revealed that a live-action film based on the adventures of the titular character was heating up under the eye of Rio director, Carlos Saldanha. Pulling in some top-billed stars, the movie will feature the talents of Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Zooey Deschanel, and Ravi Patel.
As for the musical reimagining based around Harold’s young adult life, we can’t wait to see what adventures Harold gets into, what tone it will take and how it may pull parts from the original book into the new plot. Because AJR commented that they "adored" the original story, we are thinking fans of Harold and his colorful world are in for a treat.