Author of 'Into The Wild' Novel Files Lawsuit Over Musical Adaptation

According to Daily Camera, the author of the book "Into the Wild," which follows the life and death of Christopher McCandless in the Alaskan wilderness, has filed a lawsuit against the playwrights who adapted the book into a musical.

The book tells the story of McCandless, a college graduate who traveled to Alaska in 1992, with the intention of living off the land. Several months later, he died of starvation in a remote area, at age 24.

The author, Jon Krakauer, wrote the novel in 1996, and later agreed to let Nikos Tsakalakos and Janet Allard adapt it into a musical. However, the relationship between the author and playwrights has since gone sour, causing Krakauer to file the suit on November 30.

The pair of playwrights approached Krakauer and the Christopher Johnson McCandless Memorial Foundation in 2013 and asked if they could adapt the novel into a musical. They reached an agreement, and the premiere production was held in Michigan in 2017.

A year later, Krakauer decided that the script was "objectionable" and no longer wanted to be associated with the production. He requested that his name and the book's title be taken off of the musical. His lawyer claimed that he had the right to make such a request. It is unclear what exactly Krakauer had a problem with, and why it took a year for him to develop said problem.

Tsakalakos and Allard reportedly agreed to remove the title after Krakauer's attorneys told them the author owned the rights. However, on November 1, they sent an email stating that they had "every right" to the title after speaking with McCandless' parents.

It is being reported that Krakauer's lawsuit is seeking to stop the playwrights from using the book's name.

Both playwrights' websites feature references to the show, though Allard's calls it "Alexander Supertramp," a pseudonym used by McCandless.

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