EMI gives publishing permission to Monkees Music stage show

Sixties pop-rock band The Monkees will be immortalised on stage as the premiere of the musical Monkee Business is set to debut at the Manchester Opera House in March 2012, featuring the band’s biggest hits.
The show will include well-known songs including I’m A Believer, Hey, Hey We’re The Monkees and Daydream Believer, that will performed by a 20 cast members in the midst of a “madcap Austin Powers-style plot”.

One of the show’s producers Michael Rose said: “Monkee Business the Musical is a real feel-good night out for all the family and I am so pleased we are getting to share it with Manchester first… It is a real privilege that EMI have given the production musical access to some of the greatest songs of the 20th century. I can’t wait to hear the Manchester response.”

A spokesperson for the Manchester Opera House said of the premiere in its town: “[Manchester] is a city with a great foundation in music with knowledgeable and sophisticated audiences who love and understand fantastic musical theatre.”

Following its opening, the show will also visit Glasgow and Sunderland, running from March 29 to April 15.

A musical based on the band’s hits called Daydream Believer was previously cancelled in 2008, seven weeks before its scheduled opening, due to poor ticket sales.

Source: Music Week