Jake Shears has spoken to Rolling Stone magazine about his involvement in the forthcoming musical based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City novels, claiming that he needed very little persuading to get involved.
"I got an email from [librettist Jeff Whitty] wondering if I'd be interested in a musical that took place in the 70s and had kinda fun themes that involved gays, copious drug use and trannies," he says. "I said, 'Of course – what is it?'"
Maupin's series of books — set in San Francisco in the 1970s and featuring a group of bohemian outsiders — has already been made into a TV miniseries, but their rapid-fire scenes are proving difficult to recreate in a musical. "There are 50 characters and 60 themes; it's a massive undertaking," Jake adds. "It's a very different kind of musical."
The musical opens in San Francisco on May 18th and is being produced by the creative team behind Avenue Q, that thing with the rude puppets that everyone goes "HA HA HA" at.