James Murphy on Composing Broadway's BETRAYAL

James Murphy, of LCD Soundsystem fame, who will compose original music for the Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's BETRAYAL, was recently interviewed by British GQ. Directed by ten-time Tony Award-winner Mike Nichols and starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Rafe Spall, BETRAYAL begins performances Tuesday, October 1 at the Barrymore Theatre.

Though he's settled into his digs as composer now, Murphy wasn't always so sure he was right for the project.

He told the publication: "I did the soundtrack for Greenberg, the Noah Baumbach film, and that was produced by Scott Rudin. Out of that, I got to know Scott a bit. So when I was making Shut Up and Play the Hits, I went to him to ask advice. We communicated a few times for that, and then this play came up, he just called me and asked if I wanted to meet Mike Nichols and potentially do the music for a play, which I was just so ill-suited for. I was like, well, absolutely. Why not throw yourself in at the deepest of deep ends and lets take a swim?"

For Murphy, the swim was a welcome challenge.

"It's very different. It's not a soundtrack, it doesn't go along to scenes," he said. "It's just transition music and it's wonderful, it's really refreshing, it's got no commonality with much of anything I've ever done. I love these challenges where it's not about me. I'm writing the music for someone else's project, it doesn't have to be "my next thing" or any of the neurosis-generating crap that would come around making music."

Click here to read the interview in its entirety.

BETRAYAL will begin performances on Tuesday, October 1 at the Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). Opening night is Sunday, October 27. BETRAYAL is a strictly limited engagement, running 14 weeks only, through January 5, 2014.

BETRAYAL originally premiered at London's National Theatre in 1978 and was immediately hailed as one of Pinter's masterworks, winning the 1979 Olivier Award for Best New Play. Emma (Rachel Weisz) is married to Robert (Daniel Craig), a publisher, but she has long had an affair with Jerry (Rafe Spall), a literary agent and Robert's best friend; as, in a brilliant device, time is regained, so the full complexity of their relationships comes to light.

Tickets are available at Telecharge.com or by calling Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200.

Photo by: BEImages/Gregory Pace