Fyre Festival, one of the biggest pop culture failures of the past decade, is being reimagined in a new format.
The husband-and-wife team of Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi and singer Rita Ora is producing “Fyre Fest the Musical,” a comedy now in development with Bryan Buckley slated to direct. Grammy and Oscar-winning producer Paul Epworth will compose the music, and Davis Korins will be the brains behind the set design, according to a news release issued Sept. 8.
The musical comedy is billed as “a satirical indictment of an entire generation” about founder Billy McFarland and the 2017 event that promised to be a luxurious, three-day music festival on the Great Exuma island in the Bahamas — and descended into a planning disaster.
Taika Waititi and Rita Ora pose at the Met Gala in New York City on May 1, 2023.
Waititi had been avoiding theatrical productions for more than a decade “because it was no longer fun,” he said in a statement, but the project lured him back in. “Honestly, I think the idea is exciting, weird, and potentially disastrous, which seems apt and is how I like to work.”
Buckley, in a statement, called the event “a spectacular failed endeavor — that will haunt a generation forever.”
He added: “I cannot wait to get this show out to the world. And yeah, man, this time there will actually be music or your money back.”
The working logo for “Fyre Fest the Musical.”
Who is Billy McFarland — and what happened to Fyre Festival 2?
After promising a massive comeback with Fyre Festival 2 from May 30 to June 2 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, McFarland seemingly failed to deliver as he announced in April that the Fyre Festival brand would be up for sale. After it was sold on eBay for $245,300 in July, the status of the event is unknown.
Previously described as an “electrifying celebration of music, arts, cuisine, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports, and treasure hunting,” Fyre Festival 2 boasted tickets that ranged from $1,400 for one person to $1.1 million for a group of eight.
The original festival — touted by the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Hailey Bieber — was supposed to take place in April and May 2017. But the lineup of artists, which included Blink-182, Migos, Lil Yachty, Desiigner, Tyga, and Major Lazer, was canceled due to weather conditions.
To add insult to injury, guests who’d expected gourmet meals and luxury lodging were infamously served sliced cheese sandwiches.
In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for engaging in several fraudulent schemes related to the first Fyre Festival. After his arrest, the festival’s organizer acknowledged that he had defrauded investors out of $26 million and more than $100,000 in fraudulent ticket-selling schemes.
As part of his sentencing, McFarland agreed to pay $26 million in restitution to victims of the first Fyre Festival.
Contributing: Greta Cross, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fyre Fest musical satire heading to the stage with Taika Waititi
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