The Queen’s Gambit, which told the story of unlikely chess grandmaster Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), changed many people’s perceptions about chess. Now, Academy Award nominee and indie-pop sensation Mitski Miyawaki will be writing the music for The Queen’s Gambit musical adaptation.
Mitski will be working with Eboni Booth and Whitney White on this adaptation, and we’re excited to see how this will turn out. Broadway musicals have been incorporating pop in many musicals, and it’s going to be interesting to see how Mitski will inject her unique flavor of music into a Broadway musical. Mitski’s music has been dark, but it’s also melancholically calm. Those themes aren’t so different from Beth’s life in the series, and you might be able to imagine some of Mitski’s songs as part of the soundtrack in some of the more somber episodes of The Queen’s Gambit. Beth gains recognition in chess, but many other aspects of her life fall apart outside her control.
After her mother died in a car crash, young Beth had no choice but to go into an orphanage. She meets Mr. Shaibel, the custodian of the orphanage who taught her how to play chess. Beth was brilliant and was soon able to defeat many players who were older than her. But her story isn’t just about chess—it’s also about the struggles of a young woman suffering from addiction. Her fascinating climb in the world of chess and her character growth are the stuff of Broadway musicals. Mitski’s talent will bring Beth’s story to life in the most fascinating way.
In a statement, Mitski said that she was a big fan of the Netflix series and “an even greater fan of the original novel.” She’s ecstatic to work on this project as a fan, but Mitski’s excitement grew even further after meeting Eboni Booth and Whitney White. We can’t wait to see what they’ll bring to the table together.
(featured image: Lorne Thomson/Redferns)
