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Elton John Looking at Broadway Return with Children’s Musical

Elton John Looking at Broadway Return with Children’s Musical

Elton John is planning his return to Broadway with a children’s musical.

Few details of the musical are known at this point, but John’s partner David Furnish revealed the information, according to ArtistDirect.com.

“Later this year we begin filming ‘Rocketman,’ a biopic of Elton’s early life,” Furnish said. “Towards the end of the year, we are also planning to open a children’s musical on Broadway.”

John is known on Broadway for writing songs for “The Lion King” movie that later were used in the stage adaptation as well as for scoring “Billy Elliot the Musical.” He won a Tony Award for “Aida.”

The announcement comes just after it was reported that John and Furnished welcomed their second son, Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John. The new child was born to the same surrogate mother as the couple’s first child, Zachary, who was born in 2010.

The “Rocketman” biopic was revealed late last year, and will be written by “Billy Elliot” playwright Lee Hall. Steve Hamilton Shaw will serve as one of the producers (along with Furnish and John’s company Rocket Pictures), and spoke about the musical to deadline.com when the project was announced.

“‘Rocketman’ will be a radically different kind of biopic,” Shaw said. “It will be as unique as Elton’s life, told in a non-linear and hyper-visual manner that will transport people through the many intense experiences, some wonderful, some not, that helped define Elton as an artist, musician and man.”

No word yet on casting for the film, and specifically who will play the title role. John previously mentioned he would like Robert Downey Jr. to star in the role, and the actor has previously served as something of an Elton stand in the video for “I Want Love.” Additionally, Scottish actor James McAvoy has offered to play the part.

No word on whether Justin Timberlake is being considered, though he played a surprisingly convincing John in the video for “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore.”