‘The House That Will Not Stand’ Movie in Development at MWM Studios

MWM Studios is joining poet-playwright Marcus Gardley on the upcoming film adaptation of his play “The House That Will Not Stand.”

MWM producers Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane and producer Diane Nabatoff are on board Gardley’s historical comic drama. The play won Gardley the 2015 Glickman Award and was a finalist for the 2015 Kennedy Prize.

Set in Fauberg Treme in New Orleans in 1813, “The House That Will Not Stand” is loosely adapted from Garcia Lorca’s “House of Bernalda Alba” and examines the lives of the free women of color who became millionaires within the system of plaçage (the common-law marriages of white men and black Creole women) and fought against racial oppression.

“I am so excited to be working with Diane and the MWM team to transform ‘The House That Will Not Stand’ into a film,” said Gardley. “I can’t wait to re-visit these characters and share more of their lives and world. Even when I conceived the play, I always saw the film version.”

Gardley also wrote the plays “X: or, the Nation v Betty Shabazz,” “Black Odyssey,” and “Paradise Square,” a new musical, for which he co-wrote the book, and that will premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in December. His TV credits include “The Chi” for Showtime, “Tales of the City” and “Mindhunter” for Netflix, “The Exorcist” for Fox, and “Z: The Beginning of Everything” for Amazon. He is currently developing shows at Hulu, and with Harpo Films/Olive Productions, as well as working on films for HBO and Fox Searchlight.

“Marcus is an extraordinary playwright and we are so honored that he has decided to collaborate with MWM on this project,” said MWM Studios chief creative officer Rachel Shane and chief operating officer Adrian Alperovich. “’The House That Will Not Stand’ fits in perfectly among the roster of projects MWM Studios produces. It is such an impactful piece that deeply resonates with us and the stories we like to tell, and we are thrilled to develop this play into a feature film.”

Nabatoff said, “‘The House That Will Not Stand’ invites us into a little known moment in history – a time where definitions of property, slavery and love are turned on their head.”

Pritzker produced “Hell or High Water.” Shane produced “Genius” and Nabatoff produced “Take the Lead.”