‘The Kite Runner’ Heading To Broadway This Summer

Playwright Matthew Spangler’s stage adaptation of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling book-turned-movie, will make its Broadway premiere this summer.

The new play with music, which debuted in 2007 at San José State University, where Spangler teaches, will begin a limited run at Broadway’s Hayes Theatre on July 6, running for 17 weeks only through Oct. 30. Opening night is July 21.

Giles Croft, who has directed productions of the play in the U.K., will direct on Broadway. The Kite Runner will arrive on Broadway from two seasons in London’s West End (originally produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse).

The Broadway staging will be produced by Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals and Jayne Baron Sherman in association with UK Productions Ltd. and Flying Entertainment Ltd/Kilimanjaro Group Ltd. Daryl Roth is the Executive Producer, and Humaira Ghilzai will serve as Cultural Consultant.

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The novel was published in 2003 and tells the story of Amir, a young boy in Kabul, during the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the rise of the Taliban regime. Marc Forster directed the 2007 film from a screenplay by David Benioff.

The production describes the play as “a haunting tale of friendship spanning cultures and continents, that follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither Hassan nor Amir can foresee the terrible incident which will shatter their lives forever.”

Casting and on-sale date will be announced later.