There's been several failed attempts to write a successful musical about Marilyn Monroe over the years and no one has yet succeeded.
You may recall there was even a TV series, SMASH, about creating a Broadway Marilyn musical called BOMBSHELL. In that fictional success story the show had a fantastic score by the song writing team behind HAIR SPRAY and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY which we regularly heard in the programme; the cast album's readily available and it's a treat.
The latest writing team to have a go at putting the screen goddess on stage are country star Ali Isabella (#1 Billboard Country Hot Singles Sales Chart) and Andy Street (composer for American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance).
You can see the results at The LOST Theatre, near Kennington from May 30th – June 18th 2016. It's called NORMA JEANE: THE MUSICAL and it has already had a trial run in 2015.
The creators promise to show us "a side of Marilyn Monroe that to many is still a mystery, the show casts a beady eye on the dark side of fame and fortune"
This is a little worrying, let's hope they have something new to say. I'd have thought that anyone interested in the star and this show would be all too aware what "the dark side of fame and fortune" meant for the troubled actress who died from a drugs overdose following an extraordinary career and an even more impressive roster of lovers including playwright Arthur Miller, baseball star Joe DeMagio and, it's alleged, at least one of the Kennedys.
The show, which rather neatly, opens on what would have been Marilyn Monroe's 90th birthday, focuses on the eighteen months before she died, when she was apparently sent to a psychiatric unit for three days, and which she thought was a spa. As the drugs she was hooked on left her system she hallucinated about her past, present and future. These hallucinations are to be the basis of the musical.
The script is written by TL Shannon and directed by BAFTA and Emmy-winning director Christopher Swann
Swann has been quoted as saying: “It’s an exciting task to put Marilyn, madness, movement and music all into one evening. It’s a dark show but has a big heart. With our great cast, it is a challenge I couldn’t refuse.”
That cast includes Strictly Come Dancing star Joanne Clifton, who was the 2013 World Professional Ballroom Showdance Champion, as Marilyn Monroe. The press release reminds us that "Joanne is most famous for her appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, where she partnered Scott Mills, Russell Grant and Harry Judd, with whom she won the Christmas Special 2015"
Intriguing news from the Royal Court who've announced much loved actor and former Dr Who, Matt Smith will appear in a new play that hasn't actually been written yet!