Backbeat: Beatles musical to play Broadway

Backbeat, a musical stage adaptation of Iain Softley's 1994 film, which charts the early rise of The Beatles, is to arrive on Broadway following it's American Premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from 16 Jan - 24 Feb 2013.

No cast has been announced for the American premiere, and no dates for the Broadway run.

The musical is written by by Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys, and directed by David Leveaux (Nine).

Backbeat tells the story of how The Beatles 'became' The Beatles - when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe embarked on their journey from the famous docks of Liverpool to search for success in the seedy red light district of Hamburg.

The musical concentrates on the relationship between The Beatles original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, the striking German photographer Astrid Kirchherr with whom he fell in love, and his best friend John Lennon.

All time rock 'n' roll classics that the Beatles cut their teeth with - 'Twist & Shout', 'Rock & Roll Music', 'Long Tall Sally' 'Please Mr Postman' and 'Money' - are all performed live on stage in Backbeat.

Backbeat had its world premiere at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre in Scotland in Feb 2010. It then played it's London West End debut at the Duke of York's Theatre, where it ran from 24 Sep 2011 through to 18 Feb 2012.

The show opened in London to mixed reviews: Highly watchable and generally well-crafted production (londontheatre.co.uk); This show largely left me bored and depressed (Daily Telegraph); Intelligent, multilayered and often touching (The Guardian).

Backbeat will open in Toronto in July 2012.

The musical is produced by Karl Sydow in association with Glasgow Citizens Theatre.