"Ghost of John McCain" musical to open off-Broadway in September
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The wait for a new musical featuring John McCain's ghost trapped in Donald Trump's head is almost over.
The big picture: "Ghost of John McCain" will premiere Sept. 3 off-Broadway at New York City's SoHo Playhouse.
- It's scheduled to run through Nov. 10.
Catch up quick: The musical's plot features McCain awaking in the afterlife to find himself trapped in former President Trump's brain and trying to escape.
- He's joined by a Greek chorus that includes Hillary Clinton, former Trump attorney Roy Cohn, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Eva Perón, Teddy Roosevelt and Robert Jordan, the protagonist of "For Whom the Bell Tolls," who was a favorite of the real-life McCain.
- The show features songs with titles like, "Heaven or a Three-Star Hotel," "Tweet Storm," "I Told You So," sung by Clinton, and "Good Boy," sung by Graham.
Zoom in: Coproducer Jason Rose, a public relations consultant and longtime political fixture in the Valley, partnered with Max Fose, a political consultant who worked for McCain, and the late Grant Woods, Arizona's former attorney general and a one-time congressional aide to McCain.
- Scott Elmegreen wrote the script and Drew Fornarola wrote the songs, Rose told Axios.
- Rose said he and the other. coproducers are financing the show with help from other investors.
Between the lines: Over the past few months, the production team made some changes to the play's script, Rose told Axios.
- The Greek chorus now includes rapper Kanye West and Grizabella from the musical "Cats."
- Trump's character — who's a separate character from his brain — is now portrayed by a teenage boy.
What's next: Rose hopes the musical will be successful enough to extend its run past Nov. 10.
- Tickets are available now on the SoHo Playhouse website.