Not sure why two Jeff Buckley stories have caught my eye in as many days, but perhaps these come in threes and we’ll have one tomorrow, as well. Last May, we mentioned the concert premiere of Michael Kimmel’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, titled The Last Goodbye, which debuted at New York City’s Joe’s Pub to sold-out crowds. The event was—and still is—perhaps most notable because Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, authorized the use of her late son’s music, which she has seldom done since his death in 1997.
Now Variety reports (via Flavorwire) that the NYC premiere of The Last Goodbye was such a hit that a theatrical version is being prepped for the 2010-11 stage season.
Previously described as “part rock concert, part Elizabethan verse, [and] part 21st century musical,” Kimmel’s adaptation weaves Buckley songs, such as “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” and “Eternal Life” into Shakespeare’s famous tragedy about star-crossed lovers who… oh, I better not give away the ending.