Fran Drescher is preparing The Nanny for its Broadway debut.
While celebrating the launch of the new book N is for Nanny, Drescher, 64, opened up to PEOPLE about his new musical and where they are in the development process.
“The Nanny musical is moving at a really good pace,” she said. “Rachel Bloom is writing the lyrics. Peter [Marc Jacobson] and I are writing the book. We’ll have our first official reading at the end of July.”
“I can’t imagine it opening before at least another two years, but it’s very exciting,” she added.
“The Nanny musical is moving at a really good pace,” she said. “Rachel Bloom is writing the lyrics. Peter [Marc Jacobson] and I are writing the book. We’ll have our first official reading at the end of July.”
“I can’t imagine it opening before at least another two years, but it’s very exciting,” she added.
The musical Nanny was inspired by the 1993 series of the same name, created by Drescher and shown for six seasons on CBS. The stage production will follow a girl from Flushing, Queens, who becomes a nanny for a Broadway producer’s three children.
In January 2020, Drescher confirmed to PEOPLE that the Broadway play was being made with the help of Jacobson, her creative partner and ex-husband.
Marc Bruni, who produced Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, will direct the musical, while Adam Schlesinger – who tragically passed away from COVID complications later that year – will write the music alongside Bloom, who created Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
“No one has been cast yet – we are planning – but we feel confident that we will find a great actress who is funny, charming and has a great voice,” Drescher said on at that moment. “Of course I’ll do it myself. But we’ll have to change the title to The Granny.”
Speaking to PEOPLE at his book launch event, Drescher noted that having Bloom join the project was a new experience.
“We were so happy that Rachel wanted to do it because she grew up watching the show,” she explains. “She’s got a sense of humor. She’s really smart, she’s Jewish and she’s the right age to bring a contemporary aspect to it and now she’s sharing this series on HBO Max with his daughter.”
Besides the Broadway musical, Drescher is also focused on launching a new illustrated book.
The actress worked alongside Australian author Rebecca Kelly for N is for Nanny, which was inspired by the fashion and comedy of the television series. As a special treat, all proceeds from Drescher’s book will go directly to her organization Cancer Schmancer, which advocates for women’s cancer health care.
“I never thought Sony would do that. Rebecca Kelly is so dedicated to Cancer Schmancer and such a big fan of the show that she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Drescher shared. “Sony was incredibly enthusiastic. They were happy to let us use the program to support Cancer Schmancer.”
The new book is also perfect for fans of The Nanny who are hoping to add to their memorabilia collection, according to Drescher.
“It was the perfect combination of my two passions and I feel very lucky that it all worked out,” she said. “It looks very nice and I hope people will buy it.”
N is for Nanny is available for purchase on thenannybook.com and cancerschmancer.org.
