Midnight Cowboy Musical in the Works for London Premiere

A musical version of the novel/film Midnight Cowboy, written by playwright Bryony Lavery and composer Francis “Eg” White, will have its world premiere April 4-May 17 at London’s Southwark Playhouse Elephant.

Based on the 1965 book by James Leo Herilhy, Midnight Cowboy tells the story of the unlikely friendship between naïve male prostitute Joe Buck and ailing con artist Ratso Rizzo. The movie, written by Waldo Salt and directed by John Schlesinger, is the only film with an X-rating to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. On screen, the leading roles were played by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with a supporting cast that also included Sylvia Miles, Brenda Vaccaro, and Barnard Hughes.

Lavery is known for her Tony-nominated play Frozen, while White has penned songs for Adele, Sam Smith, Céline Dion, and many others.

Direction and choreography are by Nick Winston, with musical arrangements, orchestrations, and supervision by Charlie Ingles. The creative team includes Andrew Exeter (set and lighting design), Sophia Pardon (costume design), Yvonne Gilbert (sound design), and Ellie Verkerk (musical direction). Additional team members include Libby Watts (associate direction and choreography), Lucy Fennell (intimacy direction), and Mary Howland (dialect coaching).

Casting will be announced at a later date.