Death Note Musical Gets World Premiere
The world premiere of Death Note: The Musical hits London's Barbican Theatre from July 30-September 12, with press night on August 11. Directed by Stephen Whitson, this marks a major anime-to-stage adaptation. Other theater news includes The Coterie Theatre's The Drum Closet and Jack Studio Theatre's sold-out The Village Where No One Suffers, followed by The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret.
While billed as a world premiere, this version of *Death Note: The Musical* is a new, reimagined production with a revised script and new songs. The show originally premiered in Tokyo in 2015 before successful, sold-out runs in South Korea, where it won Best Musical at the Korea Musical Awards. The musical features a score by prolific Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn (*Jekyll & Hyde*), with lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell. An English-language concept album was recorded back in 2014, featuring Jeremy Jordan as Light and Jarrod Spector as L, giving fans an early taste of the score. Director Stephen Whitson has an extensive West End background, serving as an associate director on massive hits like *Hamilton* and *Moulin Rouge*. The creative team for this new production also includes choreographer Fabian Aloise (*Sunset Boulevard*) and designer Jon Bausor (*Spirited Away* stage play). The adaptation is based on the hugely popular manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. The story follows high school student Light Yagami, who finds a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing their name inside. This production joins a long tradition of "2.5D musicals" in Japan, where popular anime and manga are adapted for the stage. Other major series that have received musical adaptations include *Sailor Moon*, *Naruto*, *Bleach*, and *My Hero Academia*.
