Florence Welch is heading to Broadway after writing the songs for a new musical version of The Great Gatsby.
The Florence + the Machine singer has penned the lyrics for the show tunes, which she composed with Thomas Bartlett for the theatre adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
The Great Gatsby, A New Musical will feature a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok, and be directed by Rebecca Frecknall, with Warner Music Group boss Len Blavatnik, Amanda Ghost, and Robert Fox serving as producers.
In a statement, Welch said: “This book has haunted me for a large part of my life. It contains some of my favourite lines in literature.
“Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald’s broken romanticism. It is an honour to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.”
Welch already has a professional link to The Great Gatsby – she and her bandmates contributed the song ‘Over the Love’ to the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film adaptation, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as millionaire Jay Gatsby, and Carey Mulligan as socialite Daisy Buchanan.
Producers Ghost and Fox insist the timing is perfect for the new musical, the first major new musical production announced for Broadway since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the famed New York theatre district in March 2020.
Plans for a pre-Broadway run, complete with casting details, are expected to be announced in due course.
