Fyre Fest<\/a> never lived up to its promises, but the Fyre Fest musical?<\/p>\n That\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n The doomed music festival is getting the stage treatment.<\/p>\n Per the Hollywood Reporter, \u201cFyre Fest The Musical<\/a>\u201d is in the works.<\/p>\n The show will be based on the life of Fyre Fest founder<\/a> Billy McFarland<\/a>, who grew up in Short Hills.<\/p>\n Married stars Taika Waititi<\/a> and Rita Ora<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Despite all the social media influencing and celebrity endorsements around the event, none of the headliners materialized at the hyped up music festival.<\/p>\n McFarland, now 33, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018. He was sentenced to six years in prison<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Bryan Buckley<\/a>, who has worked with Waititi through his Hungry Man production company<\/a>, is set to write and direct the musical. He\u2019s directed both commercials and narrative films.<\/p>\n \u201cI never saw something completely mind-bendingly ridiculous<\/a> and intriguing as what went down with Fyre Festival,\u201d Buckley told the Hollywood Reporter. \u201cA spectacular failed endeavor \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n RO TW<\/p>\n Grammy winner Paul Epworth is writing the music and David Korins (\u201cHamilton\u201d) will be designing the set.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking in the theater is always fun,\u201d Waititi told the outlet.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean I haven\u2019t done it for 15 years because it was no longer fun, but I\u2019ve been told it will be fun this time,\u201d the Oscar winner said. \u201cAnd I believe them. When Bryan Buckley told me he wanted to make a musical about the Fyre Festival, I said \u2018Who the hell is Bryan Buckley?\u2019 I then remembered we\u2019ve 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<\/a>, which seems apt and is how I like to work. I can\u2019t wait to get started and snatch me some of that sweet American theatre money.\u201d<\/p>\n McFarland\u2019s ill-fated Fyre Fest was the subject of two documentaries released in 2019 \u2014 Netflix\u2019s \u201cFyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened<\/a>” and Hulu\u2019s \u201cFyre Fraud<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n He even started selling tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ultimately, however, he sold the brand<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting <\/i>NJ.com<\/i><\/a> with a subscription.<\/i><\/p>\n Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at <\/i>akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com<\/i><\/a> and followed at <\/i>@AmyKup<\/i><\/a> on Twitter\/X, <\/i>@amykup.bsky.social<\/i><\/a> on Bluesky and <\/i>@kupamy<\/i><\/a> on <\/i>Instagram<\/i><\/a> and <\/i>Threads<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n Read the original article on NJ.com<\/a>. Add NJ.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n