1 of 4 | British singer Florence Welch, from Florence And The Machine, attends the Brit Awards in 2019. She will write songs for the musical adaptation of "The Great Gatsby." File Photo by Rune Hellestad/ UPI |
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April 28 (UPI) -- Florence Welch, the Grammy-nominated British singer-songwriter of the pop band Florence and the Machine, will co-write songs for the stage adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby, A New Musical will be Welch's first musical theater project. She'll co-write the original score with musician and producer Thomas Barlett, who produced the Oscar-nominated Sufjan Stevens song "Mystery of Love" from Call Me By Your Name. The pair worked together on the song "Jenny of Oldstones" for the final season of Game of Thrones.
"This book has haunted me for a large part of my life," Welch told The Hollywood Reporter. "It contains some of my favorite lines in literature. Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald's broken romanticism."
According to Vulture, Welch already contributed to Baz Luhrmann's film version of The Great Gatsby with the song "Over the Love."
The musical includes other award-winning behind-the-scenes talents.
It will be directed by Rebecca Frecknall, the associate director of London's Almeida Theatre who won the 2019 Olivier Award for best revival for Tennesee Williams' Summer and Smoke.
Jeanie O'Hare, who commissioned and developed Matilda the Musical for the Royal Shakespeare Company, will serve as the story consultant.
It also features a book by playwright Martyna Majok who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2018 for Cost of Living. Frecknall and Majok worked together on Sanctuary City.
With Len Blavatnik and Amanda Ghost to head the production team with Robert Fox, and Hannah Giannoulis and James Orange serving as executive producers, the show will be co-produced with Access Entertainment.
"Florence's passion for Gatsby and exceptional musical storytelling will bring this iconic love story to life in ways we have never experienced before," said Ghost and Fox in a statement. "Martyna and Rebecca are two of the most exciting theatre artists of their generation and, together, this extraordinary team brings a thrilling new perspective to one of the most culturally significant books of all time. It's been 100 years since The Great Gatsby was published and there could be no better time for a new musical adaptation of the greatest party America ever threw."
