‘The Flintstones’ goes from Bedrock to Broadway
Marco Pennette (Samantha Who?) is at work on the book for a stage musical based on Hanna-Barbera’s classic Flintstones. According to Variety, the musical has been conceived by Warner Bros. Theater Ventures. Jeff Marx (Avenue Q) is writing the music and lyrics with Jake Anthony. Gary Griffin (The Color Purple) will direct with no casting as yet.
“Pennette’s script will rely on contemporary issues,” the trade says. “Wilma, for example, mulls leaving Fred because he still acts too much like a caveman and hasn’t adapted to more modern ways. Barney and Betty tackle fertility issues before deciding to adopt. Musical will also tackle global warming — but in this case, as The Flintstones takes place before the ice age, the characters will confront ‘global cooling’."
The Flintstones is not the first television series headed for Broadway. We recently reported about The Addams Family coming next year. And then there’s Julie Taymor’s Spider-Man which continues to develop.
Pannette has also teamed with Brad Meltzer, with whom he worked on the WB’s charming Jack and Bobby, and Steve Cohen to create sThe Romeos, a series not dissimilar to the film That Thing You Do, tracing the careers of a 1960s rock quartet that suddenly hits it big. Marx will pen original songs for the proposed network series.
The trade says the show is set in Ypsilanti, Mich., in 1965, as the “four 22-year-olds at the heart of the show first pick up their instruments. Drama will be told from the modern day, looking back at the band members before they became famous. The plotline will be advanced via documentary-style interviews with characters looking back on the band’s early days.”
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