Gladiator Gears up for Musical???

Action heroes usually found on the big screen look set to be the next big thing in musical theatre. Not only are shows about Zorro (See The Goss, 29 Dec 2005) and martial arts legend Bruce Lee (See The Goss, 28 Mar 2006) in the pipeline, but now we hear the Oscar-winning 2000 film Gladiator is being adapted for the stage. The men behind the project are William Nicholson, who wrote the original screenplay, and producer Brian Eastman (whose screen credits include Rosemary and Thyme and Poirot). The musical will use the original film score by Hans Zimmer, and Broadway actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, whose credits include Don Quixote, Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime and Kiss of the Spider Woman on stage as well as Frasier and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on television, is tipped to star. In the film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, so he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

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