Former Beatle Paul McCartney is writing a musical
Former Beatles and music legend Paul McCartney has secretly worked on a musical behind the scenes.
It was revealed that he has already written a song score for a stage musical adaption of the 1946 Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life.
McCartney has been working hard with writer Lee Hall, who's responsible for Billy Elliot on stage and the Rocketman screenplay as well as working with British producer Bill Kenwright.
"Writing a musical is not something that had ever really appealed to me," said McCartney in a statement.
"But Bill and I met up with Lee Hall and had a chat and I found myself thinking this could be interesting and fun. ... It's A Wonderful Life is a universal story we can all relate to."
It appears that he’s pretty far along with the musical.
"On a recent trip to London, I got to listen to McCartney's stunning demo tracks," writes Johnny Oleksinski, according to Variety.
"The songwriter segues easily into the musical theatre style, while still giving his diehard fans that soulful McCartney sound. Every time a Beatle sings, an angel gets his wings. ... On the CD, the singer performs every role from George Bailey to Mr. Potter and even tries his hand at acting.
“The more than 10 finished songs sound like a bona fide lost Beatles album, with one spectacular number's rousing ending bringing to mind the 'Na Na Na Na Na's of 'Hey Jude.'"
Kenwright obtained the rights to the film from Paramount back in 2016 and reached out to McCartney who took an interest. However, McCartney didn’t send in any material until last year.
“Out of the blue I got an email from Paul asking my thoughts on his first stab at an opening song,” said Kenwright in a statement. “He wasn’t sure — but wanted to know what Lee and I thought of it? I played the demo. Lee and I were unanimous. Our hero was a musical theater writer!”
The musical is aiming to launch a production in late 2020 in the UK, with a later move to Broadway.