Animal Farm - the musical

[Bev Vincent]

Sir Elton John is working on bringing George Orwell's classic novella Animal
Farm to the West End stage in a new musical.

The "Rocket Man" has teamed up with the writer behind his previous stage hit
"Billy Elliot" to put together a new adaptation of the famous book, about
creatures who seize control of a farm from their human masters.

Lee Hall, who won an Oscar nomination for his work on the "Billy Elliot"
movie, reveals the musical has been in the planning stage for two years, but
they nearly abandoned the project after experiencing problems obtaining the
rights to the story.

He tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "I'm deep into it, writing songs
for pigs and other four-legged friends. It's taken about two years. We
almost gave up, but there was always that one last license to go after."

And Hall admits there's still plenty of work to do before the production
hits the London stage. He adds, "Having worked with him (John) on 'Billy
Elliot', I know that Elton likes to have the lyrics done and in front of him
so I'll work on a batch before I give him anything to look at."

"I would think it's going to take around two years before it's all ready to
go."

[Karen M]

Post by Bev Vincent
Sir Elton John is working on bringing George Orwell's classic novella Animal
Farm to the West End stage in a new musical.
The "Rocket Man" has teamed up with the writer behind his previous stage hit
"Billy Elliot" to put together a new adaptation of the famous book, about
creatures who seize control of a farm from their human masters.

It's been several decades since I read this in high school, but if I
recall correctly it's not about cute cuddly critters who seize control
of the farm but rather a satire about the rise of socialism/communism
and all the evils encountered therein.

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

Perfect material for a musical. Has the entertainment world really run
out of original ideas?


Karen