Billy Elliot Creatives Sir Elton John and Lee Hall Reunite for New Animal Farm Musical

A heart-warming tale of a boy’s love for dance this is not. Billy Elliot collaborators Sir Elton John and Lee Hall are reportedly reteaming their songwriting and book writing talents, respectively, to adapt George Orwell’s classic dystopian satire Animal Farm for the stage, according to London’s Daily Mail. No official plans for production have been announced at this time, but Hall estimates the show will be developed over the course of the next two years with hopes that a run could debut as soon as 2012. The scribe is currently penning lyrics to be handed over to John for composition.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is a political allegory that transposes Stalin-era politics to a farm full of corrupt pigs, horses and sheep in order to condemn the evils of totalitarianism. The story tracks what happens after the animals of a rural farm revolt against their human owner, forming a make-shift government in hopes of creating and maintaining a Utopian society. Published in 1945, the modern classic has gone on to be one of the most famous books of the century, making Time magazine’s top 100 books of the English language list, winning a Hugo Award and becoming part of standard English literature curriculums around the globe.

Hall won a Tony Award for his book to Billy Elliot, and was nominated for Best Score with composer John. The playwright will be represented on Broadway this season with the upcoming The Pitmen Painters, which begins performances on September 14. John, who also scored Broadway's The Lion King and Aida, among others, most recently took on the Great White Way as co-producer of 2010’s Tony-nominated drama Next Fall.