In 1997 Andrzej Szpilman prepared the publication of the memoir The Pianist, written in 1945 by his father Władysław Szpilman for the German publisher ECON (1998) and later for British publisher Orion (1999). The Pianist became an international bestseller. It was named Book of the Year by the LA Times, Washington Post, Independent and Lire, and was translated into more than 35 languages.
Two years after Szpilman’s death, Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (2002) won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and the following year three Academy Awards (best adapted screenplay, best actor and best director), and BAFTA Awards for best film and best direction.
Writer/director Emily Mann has agreed to take on the transformation to the live stage. Opening is scheduled for 2019 at the McCarter Theater in Princeton (New Jersey, USA) with the ambition to become Broadway bound.