Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil Adaptation Eyeing London Then Broadway, May Star Tony Goldwyn

Driving Miss Daisy playwright Alfred Uhry’s previously reported, long in the works, musical adaptation of John Berendt’s Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, is now eyeing a London run in 2015 prior to opening on Broadway. According to Deadline, Rob Ashford recently helmed a reading of the show with a cast that included Tony Goldwyn (TV’s Scandal), Leslie Uggams (On Golden Pond) and Michael Park (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof). A two-week workshop is now planned for September.

Set in Savannah, Georgia in 1981, the murderous drama follows the eccentric citizens of the historic city as scandal sweeps through town when a well-liked antiques dealer allegedly kills a male prostitute. Composer and sound designer Mark Bennett is supervising the score, which will use classics and less well known American songs as well as some more contemporary gospel, blues and Southern rock. The reading’s cast also included Peter Cincotti, Jessica Molaskey, Michael Park and Jake Robinson.

Berendt's 1994 best-selling non-fiction book chronicles his time in Savannah as the young Danny Hansford was murdered in the lavish mansion of his boss and lover Jim Williams. Since the Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil’s publication the Mercer Williams House, where the murder occurred, has become a famous tourist attraction. A film adaptation, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring John Cusack, Kevin Spacey and Jude Law, was released in 1997.