I have a distinct and specific memory of crying my eyes out the summer after seventh grade because my mean parents were trying to make me leave for sleep-away camp before I’d finished my 15th rewatch of 10 Things I Hate About You. In other news, I am obviously gay now, which actually does feel relevant, as I would posit that 10 Things I Hate About You was the queerest rom-com of the late ’90s. (In addition to being objectively the best one). Yes, Julia Stiles’s love interest was a man, but said man was dearly departed gay icon Heath Ledger, and besides, her interests in the film included reading The Bell Jar, listening to The Raincoats, and working on her application to Sarah Lawrence. Okay, lesbian!
Given this richly Sapphic—or Sapphic-adjacent, at least—context, I obviously plotzed over the recent news that 10 Things I Hate About You would be adapted into a Broadway musical courtesy of the didn’t-know-I-needed-it dream team of Lena Dunham and Carly Rae Jepsen. I’m on the record as being an avowed hater of the kneejerk, unnecessary Hollywood reboot, but at first glance, I’m pretty sure this project couldn’t be further from that sad reality. First of all, it’s a musical, which automatically offers something different than the original—if there’s no riot grrrl number, I will scream, but given that Dunham has previously referred to herself as a “potbellied riot grrrl,” I feel reassured that Kathleen Hanna’s legacy will remain secure.
It can’t be argued that it’s a pretty grim time in U.S. history right now, and while a Broadway rom-com certainly isn’t likely to fix anything on a structural level, I am tentatively allowing myself to get excited about the potential of Dunham and Jepsen bringing back the genuine, spine-tingling chemistry between romantic leads that so enthralled me about 10 Things I Hate About You when I first saw it. I mean, Ledger pushing a lock of Stiles’s hair behind her ear and slowly drinking in the beauty of her face? To quote the film’s horny nerd Cameron quoting Shakespeare: I burn, I pine, I perish! While the 2009 TV reboot of 10 Things I Hate About You arguably did not slay, I know I can count on Dunham—the Girls creator who gave us Marnie leaning against Charlie on the subway, Adam running to rescue an OCD-stricken Hannah, and Ray kissing Aidy Bryant on that Ferris wheel—to deliver the alt-flavored sex appeal that drew so many of us closeted weirdos to the original movie. In song, no less!
