13 Going on 30 musical adaptation heading to the stage

A musical adaptation of hit movie 13 Going on 30 is officially in the works!

Released in 2004, 13 Going on 30 starred Jennifer Garner as a 13-year-old girl named Jenna Rink who magically transforms into her 30-year-old self.

Directed and produced by Andy Fickman – who previously brought Heathers to the stage – the new musical version has a score by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner and book by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who wrote the original screenplay.

The musical will be holding a two week workshop hosted at Battersea Arts Centre. During the workshop, there will be four script-in-hand public performances on Wednesday, 25 October; Thursday, 26 October; Friday, 27 October and Saturday, 28 October at 7:30PM. You can book tickets now here.

The workshop will take place ahead of a run in Summer 2025. Casting is to be announced.

Casting for the adult company is by Will Burton for Grindrod & Burton Casting and casting for the children is by Keston and Keston.

What does Jenna Rink want for her birthday? That’s easy. At thirteen years old, she wants one thing only – to be thirty, flirty and thriving. As she blows out her birthday candles, she magically wakes up seventeen years later: a thirty-year-old fashion magazine editor with a life that seems to be perfect. As she unravels the mystery of the person she has grown up to be, Jenna must work out what, and who, really matters.

Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa said: “When we poured our middle school pain into the movie 13 Going on 30, we never quite imagined it would stick around to this day as a rom-com parents show their kids, a Halloween costume, a scene in an Ariana Grande music video, and a teen sleepover staple. Now we’re thrilled to be bringing our pain across the pond with 13 Going on 30 The Musical. It’s been endlessly fun working with ROYO, Todd Garner, Revolution Studios, composer/lyricists Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, and director Andy Fickman to reinvent this story for the London stage. We can’t wait for a new generation to grab some Razzles and feel thirty, flirty, and thriving.”

The musical has been in the works for some years, with first reports about its development back in 2016.