Taika Waititi and Rita Ora are developing a musical stage adaptation about the Fyre Festival.
The show, Fyre Fest The Musical, is a musical comedy based on the life story of Billy McFarland, the founder of the Fyre Festival. The event, which was billed as a luxury music festival in the Bahamas, ended up being canceled last minute, leaving influencers and celebrities stranded. McFarland pleaded guilty to fraud in 2018 and spent several years in federal prison.
The stage show has not yet announced a production timeline, or whether it’s aiming for Broadway. The Fyre Festival and McFarland were also the subjects of competing documentaries on Hulu and Netflix in 2019.
Bryan Buckley, a filmmaker and frequent director of Super Bowl commercials, will direct and write the book for the musical. Oscar and Grammy-winner Paul Epworth will write the music and David Korins (Hamilton) will design the set. Waititi, an Oscar-winner for JoJo Rabbit, Ora, a recording artist and Waititi’s partner, Matthew Weaver and Buckley’s Hungry Man Productions are producing the show.
“Working in the theater is always fun,” Waititi said. “I mean I haven’t done it for 15 years because it was no longer fun, but I’ve been told it will be fun this time. And I believe them. When Bryan Buckley told me he wanted to make a musical about the Fyre Festival, I said “Who the hell is Bryan Buckley?” I then remembered we’ve been friends and work mates for 15 years so it was kinda hard to say no. Honestly, I think the idea is exciting, weird, and potentially disastrous, which seems apt and is how I like to work. I can’t wait to get started and snatch me some of that sweet American theatre money.”
“I never saw myself doing a theatrical musical comedy,” Buckley said. “But then again, I never saw something completely mind-bendingly ridiculous and intriguing as what went down with Fyre-festival. A spectacular failed endeavor — that will haunt a generation forever. I cannot wait to get this show out to the world. And yeah man, this time there will actually be music or your money back.”
The production is planning to anchor a 100-foot-barge in Brooklyn Monday for a launch event, in addition to guerilla art installations throughout the week.