LeStat the Musical?

A few weeks ago I talked about a musical based on Lord of the Rings. If you are like me, I imagine that struck many of you as rather strange. Now here is another strange idea for a musical for you: a musical called LeStat based on the works of Anne Rice. Believe it or not, just such a musical is soon going to be a reality. It won't be long before the famous vampire will be on stage.

Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin are working on the musical as I write this. At the moment it it is planned for LeStat to open at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco this fall. They hope that it will make Broadway next yaar. From what I understand, the musical is based on the novels Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire LeStat, and Queen of the Damned.

Unlike Lord of the Rings, I think a musical based on Anne Rice's books could work. It is not as if musicals have not drawn upon the horror genre before. Little Shop of Horrors has been one of the most successful musicals of the past two decades. Jekyll and Hyde has been a hit and even boasts a cult following. There is also the musical based on Dracula, although I have heard it has actually lost money. While musicals have been made that were based in the horror genre and even been successful, I have my doubts about LeStat. The first problem I have with the idea is that, like Lord of the Rings, they seem to be trying to draw upon too much material. I could see a musical based on Interview with the Vampire or The Vampire LeStat, but how are they going to fit material from Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire LeStat, and Queen of the Damned into a space of less than three hours? I don't see how they could succeeed at that without it seeming rushed.

My second problem is that when I think of Anne Rice's works, I don't think of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Their musical style may be suited to The Lion King and Aida, but it does not bring to mind vampires and Gothic settings. As far as musicals go, I could see, Andrew Lloyd Webber might be able to pull this off (after all, he did do The Phantom of the Opera. Ideally for me, a musical based on the character of LeStat would either have a score in the Gothic genre (Sisters of Mercy, Type O Negative) or heavy metal (Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica). I am not sure that such a musical would be a hit, but at least those genres bring to my mind vampires and Gothic horror. I then have serious doubts that John and Taupin can pull this musical off.

Anyhow, take a look at the story on Yahoo News