It was the final project he worked on before his death, and now David Bowie's Lazarus musical will have its Australian premiere in Melbourne, thanks to the Production Company.
The musical played New York in 2015 and London in 2016, with direction by the theatre world's leading auteur, Ivo van Hove. There's no word yet on who will helm the Australian production or any of the cast, but we do know that the show features 18 songs from Bowie's career, including 'Life on Mars?', 'The Man Who Sold the World', 'Changes', 'Heroes', and 'Absolute Beginners'.
It's a sequel of sorts to Walter Tevis's 1963 novel, The Man Who Fell to Earth, about a humanoid alien who comes to Earth. Bowie himself starred in a 1976 film adaptation of the novel.
The musical attracted mixed reviews in its New York and London seasons; most critics were dazzled by the music and the visuals, but felt it was a little bit muddled. In a four-star review, Time Out London argued that it shouldn't really be viewed as a musical:
"Even if he’d lived, Bowie had apparently sworn off further live shows, and I would guess ‘Lazarus’ was part-conceived as a substitute. Almost none of the songs – even the four moody new ones – feel integral to the plot, and could probably be swapped for something else without really changing the feel of the show. But as a concert setlist it makes perfect sense."
Lazarus will play Arts Centre Melbourne in May and June 2019. You can sign up to a ticketing waitlist at lazarusthemusical.com.au.