Florence Welch is writing the music and lyrics for a new musical version of The Great Gatsby. The Florence + the Machine frontwoman will adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic 1925 great American novel for a production led by Len Blavatnik and Amanda Ghost for Unigram in association with Robert Fox.
Grammy nominee Welch will collaborate on the lyrics with Thomas Bartlett (aka singer-producer Doveman), with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok (Cost of Living) penning the book for the musical, whose pre-Broadway run will be announced soon, according to a press release. The show will be directed by Olivier Award nominee Rebecca Frecknall (Summer and Smoke).
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life,” said Welch in a statement. “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. It is an honor to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.”
Considered one of the greatest American novels, Gatsby takes place on Long Island during the 1920s Jazz Age, and tells the story of striving narrator Nick Carraway’s relationship with reclusive millionaire Jay Gatsby, who secretly harbors an obsession with Carraway’s distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan.
“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 theater 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.”
The original cast recording of The Great Gatsby, A New Musical, will be released on Warner Music.
