John Grisham's "A Time to Kill" will be adapted into a Broadway play making it his first novel to be enacted in theater.

John Grisham's novel "A Time to Kill" will be adapted for a Broadway play making it the first of the author's works to be featured on stage. The script for the stage adaptation will be written by Rupert Holmes, best known for writing the song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" prominently featured in the animated movie "Shrek." Holmes has previously won a Tony Award for his comic musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and a Drama Desk honor for the musical mystery "Curtains."Ethan McSweeny, director of "Gore Vidal's the Best Man" will direct the stage play.

"A Time to Kill" has already been made into a film and was released in 1996. It was a box office hit and helped launch the film career of Matthew McConaughey. The plot of the novel revolves around a young defense lawyer who gets involved in the trial of a black man who takes a bloody revenge on a group of men that raped his young daughter.

"For almost a quarter of a century, 'A Time to Kill' has captivated readers with its raw exploration of race, retribution and justice," Grisham said in a statement, according to an Entertainment Weekly report.

"It was my first book and the first that I have allowed to be adapted for the theater. Rupert Holmes did an excellent job of translating it from the page to the stage, and I am happy that not only my loyal readers, but a whole new audience will be able to experience this story in live theater."

The stage adaptation of the novel will begin previews at the John Golden Theater September 28 and open on October 20, 2013.