Borne back ceaselessly into the past, Florence Welch is returning to “The Great Gatsby.” The Florence + The Machine singer provided a song for Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and now she’s working on a musical inspired by the Jazz Age classic, per Variety.
Seven-time Grammy nominee Welch will provide lyrics for the stage show “that is eyeing a Broadway run.” She’s also collaborating with Florence + The Machine producer Thomas Bartlett on music for the project.
Pulitzer Prize-winning “Cost of Living” playwright Martyna Majok is writing the book, and the show will be directed by Olivier Award-nominated “Summer and Smoke” director Rebecca Frecknall, whose other stage credits include “Nine Lessons and Carols,” “The Duchess of Malfi,” and a new version of Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.” Jeanie O’Hare (“Matilda the Musical”) is serving as story consultant.
No word on when to expect the show to debut.
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life,” Welch said 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.”
Florence + The Machine’s “Over the Love” was released as the first single from “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack. The band’s albums include “Lungs” and “High as Hope.”