Fyre Fest never lived up to its promises, but the Fyre Fest musical?
That’s another story.
The doomed music festival is getting the stage treatment.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, “Fyre Fest The Musical” is in the works.
The show will be based on the life of Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland, who grew up in Short Hills.
Married stars Taika Waititi and Rita Ora are producing the musical comedy about the chaos that ensued when people headed to the Bahamas in 2017 for a star-studded event that ended up being less than half-baked.
Despite all the social media influencing and celebrity endorsements around the event, none of the headliners materialized at the hyped up music festival.
McFarland, now 33, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018. He was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud related to Fyre Fest and for selling other fake event tickets. He served less than five years in prison and was released in 2022.
Bryan Buckley, who has worked with Waititi through his Hungry Man production company, is set to write and direct the musical. He’s directed both commercials and narrative films.
“I never saw something completely mind-bendingly ridiculous and intriguing as what went down with Fyre Festival,” Buckley told the Hollywood Reporter. “A spectacular failed endeavor — that will haunt a generation forever. 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.”
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Grammy winner Paul Epworth is writing the music and David Korins (“Hamilton”) will be designing the set.
“Working in the theater is always fun,” Waititi told the outlet.
“I mean I haven’t done it for 15 years because it was no longer fun, but I’ve been told it will be fun this time,” the Oscar winner said. “And I believe them. When Bryan Buckley told me he wanted to make a musical about the Fyre Festival, I said ‘Who the hell is Bryan Buckley?’ I then remembered we’ve been friends and work mates for 15 years so it was kinda hard to say no. Honestly, I think the idea is exciting, weird, and potentially disastrous, which seems apt and is how I like to work. I can’t wait to get started and snatch me some of that sweet American theatre money.”
McFarland’s ill-fated Fyre Fest was the subject of two documentaries released in 2019 — Netflix’s “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” and Hulu’s “Fyre Fraud.”
All of the bad press, prison time and reality of what happened in 2017 did not deter McFarland from trying to launch Fyre Fest 2.
He even started selling tickets.
Ultimately, however, he sold the brand.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
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