The Kinks' Ray Davies Finishes Musical
NME reports that former Kinks frontman Ray Davies has written Come Dancing, a new musical about growing up in postwar London. Davies composed 20 new songs for the production, and will also narrate the show when it hits the stage.
The semi-autobiographical show will focus on vibrant London ballroom scene of the 1950s, where Davies said his sisters used to dance every weekend. The title of the show comes from "Come Dancing," the Kinks hit about the same subject.
Davies has been working on the show for a while, it seems. NME recalls that in 2000, he told Rolling Stone, "Come Dancing is a musical with lots of actors and actresses. It's about my sisters and how they lived through that time in post-war Britain."
Come Dancing opens Sept. 13 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, and will be directed by Kerry Michael (who just directed the film-to-stage adaptation of the Jimmy Cliff reggae musical The Harder They Come).
Davies is in good company among boomer rock stars. The Who started the ball rolling decades ago with Tommy, of course. But more recently, U2's Bono and The Edge have written the music for the upcoming Spider-Man Broadway musical, and musicals based on the songs of The Beatles (Love), Billy Joel (Movin' Out), and ABBA (Mamma Mia!) have already been huge hits. (The Bob Dylan musical The Times They Are A-Changin'? Let's forget that one ever happened.)
Am I forgetting any other rock & roll musicals? How do you think Davies' Come Dancing (with the title song reportedly being the only one from the Kinks catalogue) will compare?
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