Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and the Machine, has been tapped to write the score for a new musical stage adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.”
The new musical will feature a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Martyna Majok and direction by Rebecca Frecknall, associate director at London’s Almeida Theatre. Dates for the show, which describes itself as “pre-Broadway,” have yet to be announced.
Len Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, a privately-held U.S. industrial group with investments in media and real estate, and Amanda Ghost, a songwriter and head of production company Unigram Media, will produce the musical alongside theater producer Robert Fox.
Welch will write the lyrics and co-write the music with pianist and producer Thomas Bartlett.
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life. 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,” Welch said in the press release.
Welch wrote the song “Over the Love” for the 2013 film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.”
Scott Fitzgerald’s novel was published in 1925 and entered the public domain on Jan. 1, 2021. There have been many adaptations of the novel, including the 2013 adaptation and four other films, an opera and several stage adaptations, including a 1926 Broadway play.
An immersive theatrical experience of “The Great Gatsby” is planned for New York this fall.
Hannah Giannoulis and James Orange will serve as executive producers. The production will be co-produced by Access Entertainment.
