Gone With the Wind set to become West End musical

A musical version of classic Hollywood epic Gone With the Wind is set to hit West End next year.

A musical version of classic Hollywood epic Gone With the Wind is set to hit West End next year.

Gone-with-the-wind

A stage adaptation of the U.S. Civil War-era tale is being directed by British director Trevor Nunn, the man responsible for helming Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals like Cats and Sunset Boulevard.

In a statement, Sir Trevor said that he was "drawn to the challenge" of adapting Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for the stage.

No casting for the new musical has been announced as yet, but the show is expected to open at the New London Theatre in spring 2008.

In 1939, the book was turned into an epic film that won 10 Academy Awards.

The film starred Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh as wealthy southerners whose idyllic lives are turned upside down by the American Civil War.

The production, which has been in the works for three years, has tapped in composer and lyricist Margaret Martin, who will make her musical theatre debut with the musical.

Producer Aldo Scrofani said the musical would "remain true to Margaret Mitchell's original story and characters while also revealing its relevance to our lives today".

Gone With the Wind previously inspired a Tokyo stage production called Scarlett in 1970, which was adapted for the London stage two years later.