New Dorian Gray musical in development – with first track released today

A new musical adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray is in development, with plans for a 2026 London production and subsequent UK tour.

Written by musician and lyricist Mark J Middlemiss, the show is based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel and features a score inspired by the operatic musicals of the 1970s and 1980s. Middlemiss is best known for his work on jukebox productions One Night in Dublin and The Big Country Music Show, which toured the UK and Europe for seven years.

The first track from the musical, titled “Every Picture Tells a Story” and performed by Thomas Hewitt of the Barricade Boys, is now available to stream. A full concept album is due for release in September.

Middlemiss said: “I wanted to write a good old fashioned, sung-through musical with a dark operatic score, a big overture and sweeping orchestrations alongside powerful ensemble vocals. The subject matter in Wilde’s novel lends itself so much to being a classic musical and I’m looking forward to the journey of bringing it to the stage”.

Musical arrangements for the production are by Joe Draper, Paul Worthington and Stuart McLean-Fowler. The production is described as sung-through, with a large ensemble sound and orchestrations intended to evoke the tone of classic West End scores.

The plot follows Dorian Gray, a wealthy young man in Victorian London who is granted eternal youth while his portrait bears the marks of ageing and moral decay. As he navigates a world of indulgence and excess, Dorian’s choices lead him down a darker path.