Who's ready for a show-stopping number about Club One? Maybe a jolly tune about Savannah St. Patrick's Day?
Well, ready-or-not, "The Book" is heading to Broadway.
The 1994 bestselling novel about Savannah from John Berendt, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is being adapted into a musical, according to Deadline. The musical will be written by Tony Award-nominee Taylor Mac, music and lyrics from "The Last Five Years" songwriter Jason Robert Brown ,and direction by Rob Ashford of "Frozen" and "Shrek" fame.
The production will be produced by Hal Luftig, Craig Haffner and Sherry Wright.
Credit: Courtesy of Everard Auctions
Credit: Courtesy of Everard Auctions
An invitation-only industry reading of the new adaptation will take place in New York City in May.
This isn't the first attempt to bring "Midnight" to Broadway. Producer Anne Hamburger was attached with Ashford also attached to direct. According to Playbill, a reading took place in 2014 with Tony Goldwyn, Leslie Uggams and Jessica Molaskey participating.
"I thought at first, I have to get an original score," playwright Alfred Uhry told Playbill at the time. "But it just doesn't seem to suit it. Jim Williams as a character singing seemed like a terrible idea to me. This is not a musical where someone sings their thoughts. There is a character in the book, who I have sort of pushed forward, named Joe Odom, who owns a nightclub and there's a lot of singing going on there."
The adaptation was then shelved before this latest announcement.
'Midnight' in Savannah
"The Book" — as local know it as — hit shelves in 1994 and still holds records for its length of time on the New York Times' best-selling list. In a first-person narrative, Berendt took readers through the story of a wealthy antiques dealer who had just shot his young friend in his stately historic district mansion. What ensues are years of trials and re-trials, and a socially-prominent Savannah.
The novel spurned a massive influx of tourism into Savannah and garnered Hollywood interest soon after.
Credit: iMDB
Credit: iMDB
Clint Eastwood directed a 1997 film version of the novel, which starred John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. The film was shot on location in Savannah, featuring local characters such as Lady Chablis as themselves in the movie.
“Clint flew me out to California by myself," lawyer Sonny Seiler, who features prominently in the book and movie, told the Savannah Morning News recently.
"The jail, the Mercer House hallway, the den where Billy was shot were all Hollywood recreations, as I said. I walked in and felt like I was back in Savannah, they did such a remarkable job....Everybody who had anything to do with Clint thought he was just wonderful. He was so well prepared. And the cast was perfect. I have to say, Jim Williams was a fascinating guy. I had represented him in civil matters for years. Very smart and nice.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' to be adapted into a Broadway musical
