The Testament of Ann Lee

[BluBonnet]

‘The Brutalist’ Team Have Wrapped On An Under-The-Radar Musical Called ‘Ann Lee’ Starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson & Stacy Martin

The team behind seven-time Golden Globe nominee The Brutalist have been quietly working on a starry musical called Ann Lee, which has now wrapped, with Oscar nominee Amanda Seyfried (Mank) in the lead role.

Mona Fastvold (The World To Come), Golden Globe-nominated co-writer of The Brutalist, serves as director, co-screenwriter, and producer. Venice Silver Lion winner Brady Corbet co-wrote with his Brutalist collaborator and partner, Fastvold. Golden Globe-nominated composer Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist) wrote and produced the original music.

The film, inspired by real events, is described to us as “an epic fable” about religious leader Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, who was proclaimed by her followers as the female Christ and went on to build one of the largest utopian societies in American history. Lee–one of the rare female religious heads at the time– and her followers worshipped through exuberant song and dance.

Lee, also known as Mother Ann Lee, was born in England in 1736 but in 1774 she and a small group of her followers emigrated to New York where Lee continued to become a prominent and powerful figure.

Seyfried, who won a Golden Globe and Emmy for The Dropout, leads the movie in the title role with supporting cast including Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn, David Cale, and Jamie Bogyo.

The project marks Seyfried’s first musical since 2018 hit sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, though this is of a very different register. She also starred in Les Miserables.

Pic is produced by Kaplan Morrison’s Andrew Morrison, Intake Films’ Joshua Horsfield, Proton Cinema’s Viktoria Petranyi, Mona Fastvold, and Brady Corbet alongside Mark Lampert, Mid March Media’s Gregory Jankilevitsch and Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska, and Mizzel Media’s Lillian LaSalle.

The team are lining up a 2025 launch. Sales and distribution has yet to be set on the project.