T Bone Burnett to Score Roy Rogers Musical ‘Happy Trails’
Music industry heavyweight T Bone Burnett has signed on to write the music and lyrics for “Happy Trails,” a stage musical about the life of Roy Rogers.
Producer Larry G. Spangler made the announcement that Burnett would be taking over the score following the departure of previously attached songwriting team Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Screenwriter Marshall Brickman (“Annie Hall”) will write the book and Des McAnuff (who won Tony Awards for “Big River” and “The Who’s Tommy”) is slated to direct the project.
“Happy Trails” will follow Rogers in his prolific acting career and marriage to Dale Evans.
“Not only is T Bone a brilliant musical jack-of-all-trades, but he’s also – like Dale Evans was – a Texan through-and-through,” Spangler said in a statement. “He totally embodies that indefinable spirit of the American West with which Roy and Dale were synonymous.”
Burnett is known for his film music work on “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “Walk the Line” and “The Hunger Games,” among many more, as well as his collaborations with the Coen Brothers on such films as “The Big Lebowski” and “Inside Llewyn Davis.” His television credits include HBO’s “True Detective” and ABC’s “Nashville.” He has 13 Grammy wins under his belt and an Oscar for best original song for “The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart.”
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