Musical Adaptation of 1945 Play Dark of the Moon in the Works

A musical adaptation of Dark of the Moon, a 1945 play centering on an Appalachian witch boy, is in the works for a potential Broadway production and feature film. According to Variety, director/producer Arthur Allan Seidelman will re-team with writer Richard Alfieri and choreographer Kay Cole to develop the musical. The three previously collaborated on the short-lived 2003 play Six Dances in Six Weeks, starring Mark Hamill and Polly Bergen.

Best known as a dramatization of the folk song “The Ballad of Barbara Allen,” Dark of the Moon was written by Howard Richardson and William Berney and had a 10-month Broadway run in 1945. It tells the story of a witch boy named John and his star-crossed love for a beautiful human girl, Barbara Allen.

Variety reports that the musical’s score is expected to draw from Appalachian folk music, but no songwriter or casting has been announced. The creative team is aiming for a Broadway bow in 2012.