Stage Adaptation of ‘High Noon’ Headed to Broadway

A stage adaptation of the American Western film High Noon is planning a Broadway run in 2023. 

Eric Roth, who wrote the screenplays for Forrest Gump, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dune and more, will write the adaptation. Michael Arden, who last directed revival Once on This Island on Broadway, will helm the production. 

The 1952 film is an American Western concentrated on a town marshal who has to decide whether to confront a gang alone or leave town with his wife. The film, produced by Stanley Kramer, starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly and won four Academy Awards, including for film editing and for its music. In 1989, the Library of Congress selected High Noon to be preserved in the National Film Registry due to its influence on the industry. 

Lead producers Paula Wagner (who recently brought a musical adaptation of Pretty Woman to Broadway) and Hunter Arnold say this will be the first Western play to premiere on Broadway in more than 85 years. 

“When Eric Roth presented his vision for a stage adaptation of High Noon, I immediately saw the potential for a theatrical presentation of the iconic story about doing the right thing in spite of public opinion and external pressure. More relevant today than ever, Stanley Kramer’s film continues to captivate audiences with a classic Western portrayal of a person standing up for what is right in the face of apathy and rejection,” Wagner said in a statement.

Like the film, the Broadway production will take place in real-time for a two-hour duration. Casting, exact dates and other details will be announced at a later date.  

July 27, 3:55 pm PST Updated to correct the number of Oscars that High Noon won at the 25th Academy Awards.