‘Black Swan’ as a musical?

The award-winning dark, psychological thriller “Black Swan,” with its haunting hallucinations, body horror, and chilling end, left movie-goers decidedly unsettled when it premiered in 2010.

That included Jen Silverman, who would eventually write the book for a musical based on the film. 

“It really freaked me out in really good ways,” said Silverman, recalling their first time seeing “Black Swan” while in grad school in Iowa City. “The idea of putting some version of that on stage felt like such a challenge that I was immediately interested.” 

As were other members of her team. The end result is A.R.T.’s musical based on the film by Darren Aronofsky ’91, running now through July 5, with an official opening night set for Wednesday.

Silverman was first approached about the idea in 2020. They knew the key was going to be how to depict the internal struggles of the main character, Nina, a talented young dancer with an overbearing mother who desperately wants the lead in a production of “Swan Lake.”

Since then, Silverman and the rest of the creative team — which includes Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Sonya Tayeh (“Gatsby” at A.R.T., “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” on Broadway) and Obie Award-winning musicians Dave Malloy and Or Matias — have been workshopping and revising. 

The result is a work that makes use of music, movement, word, and setting to stretch the boundaries of theater while maintaining some of the intense thematic elements of the original film. 

“It’s been an amazing experience watching that music take form, and from that music, watching the story being updated for the present day,” said Aronofsky in a statement. “I love the music, and I love the movement. I love the dance. I love how scary it is and how crazy it is, and I’m excited for audiences to experience it.”

Melanie Moore, who plays Nina, said that she was approached by Tayeh to become part of the production. She previously worked with Tayeh in 2011 on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” which launched her dancing career and eventually led her to theater.

Moore said that while the Oscar-winning performance of Natalie Portman ’03 in the role was incredible, as a professional dancer she feels she brings unique insights, having experienced the beauty and hardships of the profession, including the never-ending drive for the unattainable goal of perfection.

“There are certain things of yourself that sometimes you have to strip away in order to make things as artists. And sometimes it makes you better, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Moore said, speaking of Nina’s journey in the play. “It is [Nina’s] way to ascend and make her mark on something, and it’s at the expense of herself.”

“Nina has both this incredible vulnerability and also a real steeliness, a real drive that she discovers in herself,” said Silverman. “What is so thrilling about watching Melanie’s Nina is you’re watching someone who is discovering something about themselves for the first time, and who is then in pursuit of that thing, even if the pursuit takes them over the cliff.”

The production leans heavily on many theatrical elements to bring the thrills and chills of “Black Swan” to the stage, no small undertaking.

The narrative is very dance-forward but weaves together singing, music, and choreography to elicit an intense emotional experience for the audience. 

The creative team experimented extensively with how to use horror and thriller mechanisms in unique ways to create the bone-chilling experience of a thriller without the aid of camera close-ups or other cinematic elements. 

“I think some people are going to leave horrified, some people are going to leave like, ‘Whoa, she did it.’ Some people are going to leave just being like, ‘The dancing was amazing,’ and some people might leave being like, ‘What the hell just happened?’” Moore said. “I hope that people leave and they feel inspired to talk about it.”

“Black Swan” will be showing through July 5. To purchase tickets, visit the A.R.T website.