Just days after announcing a partnership with Baz Luhrmann to develop Moulin Rouge! into a Broadway musical, Global Creatures has set its sights on another film-to-musical collaboration. The company, best known for its arena shows featuring life-size dinosaurs at war and play, will partner with Sydney Theatre Company to produce the world premiere of Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Global Creatures CEO Carmen Pavlovic announced today.
The show is slated to make its debut next year in a run from November 6 through December 30, 2017, at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre. Based on the 1994 indie written and directed by PJ Hogan and produced by Lynda House and Jocelyn Moorhouse, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical will be directed by Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Love Never Dies).
Hogan is updating his screenplay for the stage, and original music is being written by singer-songwriters Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall, to complement songs by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson originally written for ABBA and featured in the film. The movie starred Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter.
Helpmann Award-winner Gabriela Tylesova, a frequent collaborator with Simon Phillips, will design sets and costumes.
“I can’t imagine a better opportunity than partnering with Australia’s leading theatre company to ensure the best possible creative development and presentation of this brand new musical,” Pavlovic said in the announcement from Global Creatures. “STC is an industry leader in creating new work and together our two organizations can bring significant creative resources to bear.”
In addition to its arena shows Walking With Dinosaurs and How To Train Your Dragon, Global Creatures has become increasingly involved in legitimate stage shows, including Strictly Ballroom, King Kong and Moulin Rouge! Sydney Theatre Company will be represented this season on Broadway with The Present, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Platonov, beginning previews December 17 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and co-starring Richard Roxburgh and former STC artistic director Cate Blanchett.
