Tracy Letts Shares Update on James Taylor Musical FIRE & RAIN- 'We're Not Quite There'

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the music of Grammy Award Winner James Taylor will be featured in a new stage musical titled FIRE & RAIN, featuring an original story written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts and directed by Tony Award-winner David Cromer. 

In a recent episode of Marc Maron's podcast WTF, Letts chatted about the current status of the musical. 

"The template for this might be the Bob Dylan musical Girl From the North Country, which Conor McPherson directed and wrote, or Mamma Mia!, which uses the music of ABBA. We've done a couple of workshops and I thought we were ready to go into production- not on Broadway... I thought we'd start somewhere at a regional theatre," he told Maron. "A couple of months later, the producers came back to me and said, 'We're not quite there. We need more time.' The note being that it's a little too sad."

James Taylor's legacy is one of profound influence on American music, particularly in the genres of folk, pop, and singer-songwriter traditions. His career spans over five decades, and his impact can be felt in both the personal nature of his songs and his stylistic innovations.  His deeply personal, introspective lyrics and soulful delivery helped define the era's musical landscape.  

Letts is a distinguished American playwright, actor, and screenwriter.  He’s renowned for his work in theater, particularly for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County (2007), which won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. The play has been widely acclaimed for its sharp writing and complex characters.  Other notable plays, including Bug (1996), Killer Joe (1993), Superior Donuts (2008), and The Minutes (2022). Letts’ plays often blend dark humor with moments of profound emotional depth.  His work as both a playwright and actor has established him as one of the most versatile and accomplished figures in contemporary American theater and is an active member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.