Theater News

Animal Farm Musical in the Works From Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, and James Graham

The production, based on the George Orwell novel, will premiere in the West End.

Glenn Slater, Alan Menken, and James Graham
Glenn Slater, Alan Menken, and James Graham
(© Seth Walters/David Gordon)

Songwriters Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, and playwright James Graham, are at work on a new musical based on George Orwell's Animal Farm. The writers are planning for a series of workshops in 2021, with a West End premiere to follow.

Menken legendary composer of Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, and Newsies, among many other shows. Slater is the Tony-nominated lyricist of Sister Act and School of Rock. Tony nominee Graham's plays include Ink and Privacy, as well as the book of the musical Finding Neverland. Adam Spiegel will produce Animal Farm.

The allegorical novel follows a group of animals who rebel against their farmer, hoping to create a society where animals can be free and equal. The farm ultimately ends up in a terrible state under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.