Live theater on undead: Warners plans musical

Warner Bros. will produce a Broadway musical version of the Anne Rice vampire novels with the working title “The Vampire Lestat,” the studio announced Tuesday.

If the project comes to fruition in 2005 as planned, it will be the studio’s first venture in producing theater, although Warners has previously invested in theater, said Gregg Maday, executive vice president of Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.

The “Vampire” talent includes names associated with rival Disney’s theatrical projects. Elton John (“The Lion King” and “Aida”) will write the music; Linda Woolverton (“Beauty and the Beast”) is writing the book, and Robert Jess Roth (“Beauty and the Beast”) will direct.

John will be joined by his longtime songwriting partner, lyricist Bernie Taupin. It will be Taupin’s debut in writing for theater. In a statement released by the studio, Taupin called the project “classically based” and “stripped of Gothic cliches ... this is not a rock opera.”

Warner Bros. had earlier announced plans to develop “Batman” for Broadway. Maday said Tuesday that “Batman” is still on but is “extremely complex” and that “Vampire” is likely to beat it to Broadway. Veteran Broadway producer Emanuel Azenberg is linked to both projects.

Warners has released two films based on the Rice books, “Interview With the Vampire” and “Queen of the Damned.” The musical will be primarily based on Rice’s “The Vampire Lestat” but will include elements from other books, especially an ending from “Queen of the Damned,” Maday said.

It’s too soon to say how much the project will cost or where it might open prior to Broadway, though “I don’t think we’ll open cold in New York,” he said.

Besides Disney and Warners, Fox is the most active Broadway producer, having mounted “The Full Monty” through its Fox Searchlight division.