After scoring as hits on the page and on screen, Neil Gaiman's creepy children's story Coraline is now heading for the stage.

New York's MCC Theater will present a musical adaptation of the tale — about a little girl named Coraline who stumbles onto a parallel world — this spring, according to press reports from New York.

The off-Broadway company has enlisted Tony-nominated actress Jayne Houdyshell to play the lead role of nine-year-old Coraline.

David Greenspan, who adapted the musical's book from Gaiman's original novel, will also take the stage to portray Coraline's too-good-to-be-true Other Mother.

The show's music and lyrics are by singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, while Leigh Silverman directs.

The MCC is set to begin previews of Coraline at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on May 7. The production continues through June 20.

Director Henry Selick's film adaptation of Coraline opened in theatres across North America on Friday.