Zooey Deschanel To Play Loretta Lynn On Broadway

Lynn announced during a show Thursday that she intends to bring 'Coal Miner's Daughter' to the stage, with Deschanel to star.
By James Montgomery

Zooey Deschanel and Loretta Lynn
Photo: Getty Images

Zooey Deschanel has already tackled movies, television, music, bangs, "crafternoons" and commercials in which she needs a robotic assistant to tell her whether or not it's raining, and now, it looks like she's set to take on Broadway, too.

During a Thursday night Grand Ole Opry show at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, country legend Loretta Lynn announced that she intended to bring her life story to the Great White Way, and that she had pegged Deschanel to play her in the production. Lynn then invited the actress onto the stage to sing her iconic (and autobiographic) hit "Coal Miner's Daughter." Obviously honored, Deschanel told the audience that Lynn was her "hero."

"Coal Miner's Daughter," which tells the story of Lynn's childhood in rural Kentucky, was a #1 hit for the singer in 1970, and would go on to be the title of her best-selling 1976 autobiography. In 1980, the book was made into a movie starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones, which earned Spacek a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the singer.

Lynn told the Opry crowd that the Broadway adaptation would carry the same title, and (of course) would be a musical. There's no word on just when the production would hit the stage, and a rep for Deschanel did not respond to MTV News' request for comment at press time.

Deschanel currently stars in Fox's breakout hit "New Girl," and has been making music for years, most notably as one half of She & Him (along with M. Ward). The duo released their third album, A Very She & Him Christmas, late last year.

Do you think Zooey Deschanel is a good fit for the role of Loretta Lynn? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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