Intro
In a galaxy far, far away…on Broadway we almost had a Star Wars musical. But how? And who was involved? And what happened? Let’s find out. The format of this post will be a little different because this musical was never produced, but here we go!
A Long, Long Time Ago…
If you don’t live under a rock, you’re probably familiar with Star Wars in some way. And you probably know that the first movie came out in 1977 and was written and directed by George Lucas. At the time it was just called Star Wars, but as more movies came out, it was retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
It tells the story of a young farm boy named Luke who dreams of adventure in the stars. He gets that when he meets a wise old wizard who teaches him how to use the power of the Force to defeat the evil Empire. Subsequent films explored the return of the Empire and Luke’s relationship to the main villain of the original series: Darth Vader, who is, spoiler alert, Luke’s father.
Okay, I know you know all this. So what happens after George Lucas makes the original trilogy? He is rich. He smartly kept all the merchandising rights for toys and products from the films. And the movies are probably the biggest cultural phenomenon since the Bible or the Beatles. I might be exaggerating. I might not be.
Capitalism, Baby!
Now it is the 1980s. They try to do some other spin-off content like the Star Wars Holiday Special, some Ewok cartoons, and there are tons of toys, and mountains of books, most of which are considered fanfic and part of the more unofficial expanded universe. The only things that are really “canon” are the films and whatever George Lucas says is canon.
It is going to be a while before he makes the prequels, and even longer before Disney takes over and churns out buckets of content, good and bad. But even in the 1980s, everyone is trying to capitalize on whatever they can that is related to Star Wars.
It is also worth remembering that this is the era when Broadway is actively chasing spectacle. Cats, Les Mis, and Phantom of the Opera are smashing records. Producers are looking for the next mega-musical, and what is more mega than Star Wars? It already has a built-in fanbase, iconic characters, and a mythic story structure that Joseph Campbell would be drooling over.
Christmas in the Stars
One of those attempts to cash in on the Jedi wave was a 1980 album of Star Wars-themed Christmas songs produced by RSO Records called Christmas in the Stars. The hope was to recreate it annually, but the company went bust after less than a year.
This one record, however, was extremely successful, and even though it was initially unsanctioned, they were asked to give official credit to Lucas with his blessing.
Here is where our story really begins. The person who wrote and sang most of the songs for this album was none other than Tony Award winning musical theatre genius Maury Yeston. His song “What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb)” was a top-40 Christmas hit for years.
Unrelatedly, the album is also the debut of a young singer named Jon Bon Jovi, whose cousin owned the studio where it was recorded. His sweet vocals can be heard on “R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas” under his given name, Jon Bongiovi.
Hal Prince & Maury Yeston
At some point after the movies were in the can, Lucas approached the most famous Broadway director/producer of the time, Hal Prince. He told Prince that he was interested in making Star Wars into a musical, and he gave some names of composers he was interested in working with. One of the names at the top of the list was Maury Yeston.
Imagine being Maury Yeston in this moment. You get a call from Hal Prince, saying that George Lucas wants to make Star Wars into a musical. That is not a normal Tuesday. That is a career-defining phone call. He is probably in the midst of working on Nine. He hasn’t written his version of Phantom or the epic Titanic yet. So Yeston does what any good musical theatre composer does and immediately sits down and writes Luke Skywalker’s “I want” song.
Some time later, Prince tells Yeston they are moving on to another composer. The song never gets used. But Yeston, being a professional, does not throw it away. He keeps the melody in mind, and years later it becomes the main motif and emotional spine of the Tony Award winning musical Titanic. Epic.
Jan Hammer & The Team
Another name on George Lucas’s list was Jan Hammer, who is best known for composing the theme to Miami Vice, a very popular TV show in the ’80s with a very popular theme song. In fact, the song was number one on the Billboard charts in 1985 and held the distinction of being the only instrumental to do so until 2013, when “Harlem Shake” reached number one.
A lot of ’80s music is characterized by its prolific use of synthesizers, and the Miami Vice theme is a prime example. Once Jan Hammer was on board, they also enlisted the experienced lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh to write the songs with him. The playwright Edward Gallardo was brought on to write the book. He was also a TV actor who had small roles in shows like M*A*S*H, Charlie’s Angels, and Hawaii Five-O.
At this point, the project already has a slightly strange identity. It’s not quite Broadway, not quite pop opera, and not quite whatever Andrew Lloyd Webber is doing (also with synths). It’s a very 1980s idea of what a futuristic musical might sound like.
Getting Started
George has his lawyers send an enormous 80+ page contract to each collaborator, and within it is a stipulation that he can end the project at any time for any reason. So by the early 1990s, they have all signed on and the work begins.
Gallardo, along with a few other co-authors, creates an outline that incorporates all three of the original trilogy films into the plot of the musical. Act One ends with the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the first Death Star, and Act Two is a condensed version of Episodes V and VI.
Which, frankly, is kind of insane. This musical was going to include Luke discovering the Force, Obi-Wan dying, Han getting frozen in carbonite, Yoda, Ewoks, a chorus of Jedi Knights, and Darth Vader’s redemption. All before curtain call.
A New Hope?
The songs from Jan Hammer are not exactly reading “Broadway,” and so, I assume, Hal Prince suggests a new route. That is when Charles Strouse and Lee Adams are brought in to write the songs. They are best known for Bye Bye Birdie, among other classic Broadway shows.
They start writing songs and want to make a demo to send to George Lucas for approval. At that time, Strouse has a young assistant helping him with copywork, orchestrating, and arranging: Jason Robert Brown.
It is Brown who made the demos and recorded many of the vocals himself, including C-3PO’s song “Being A Droid.” He also pulled in some other unknown voices to help, like Andrew Lippa, who sings for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s opening number, “The Power of the Force.”
Looking back, this creative team is kind of wild. You have Charles Strouse, who wrote Annie. You have Lee Adams. You have a pre-fame Jason Robert Brown. You have a pre-fame Andrew Lippa. And all of them are somehow in a room making secret demo recordings of a Star Wars musical that no one is allowed to hear.
Use the Force
There are a few songs you can find online from this demo, including a fun song for Han Solo called “Han’s Your Man” and a beautiful ballad for Leia called “My Star” that Strouse later reuses in his show Marty. You can even find one of Jan Hammer’s contributions, a prog-rock ditty called “Torture,” featuring a robot being punished by Darth Vader and an interrogation droid. Lots of synths.
The existence of these demos has given the project a sort of mythical status among musical theatre nerds. It is not just an unproduced show. It is a lost show. One that technically exists, but only in archives, cassette tapes, and the collective memory of people who worked on it.
The other songs are not available to the public, but if you have access to the New York Public Library, you can listen to them at the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Lucas Pulls the Plug
Unfortunately, or not, George Lucas eventually decides to use that kill clause in the contract because he wants to focus on making the prequels.
This is also very on-brand for Lucas. He is famously protective of his universe, famously skeptical of other people interpreting it, although he seems to be loosening the reigns a bit lately. A Broadway musical would have meant letting go of a lot of control, and Lucas is not exactly known for that.
It is notable that Strange Magic, is a jukebox musical film that Lucas made in 2015 for his three daughters. With a great cast including Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, and Alfred Molina, it features pop music and standards from Elvis Presley, Burt Bacharach, and Whitney Houston.
In any case, the world will probably never be blessed, or cursed, with an official Star Wars musical. That is the story according to the lore of the internet, the Broadway stage-door scuttlebutt, and the files of the New York Public Library.
Personal Reflection
I do hope that there will someday be some official Star Wars property that has more musical theater elements in it. And I hope that if and when that happens, my phone rings!
Next Time
Next time, we’ll look into the soul of Frank Wildhorn’s Death Note. Are you on the list?
References
- Beckoff, L. (2025, May 4). The ‘Star Wars’ Musical That Never Was. Nypl.org. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2025/05/04/star-wars-musical-never-was
- Brown, Jason Robert. “Charles Strouse, Jedi Master.” AMERICAN THEATRE, 23 May 2025, www.americantheatre.org/2025/05/22/charles-strouse-jedi-master/
- Star Wars. A musical based on George Lucas’ motion picture. Adapted by Gallardo in collaboration with Arthur Masella and John Flaxman, music by Jan Hammer, and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. Edward Gallardo papers 1910-2020 [bulk 1970s-2000s] Series I: Writing 1910-2019, Subseries I.A. Productions, b. 20 f. 9, er. 83, b. 21 f. 1-6, b. 43 f. 9-11. Billy Rose Theatre Division Special Collections, The New York Public Library.
- Star Wars. Book by Edward Gallardo based on the Star Wars trilogy by George Lucas. Music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. Series IV: Audio and Video Recordings 1979-2007, 859159 Original and Revised Demos. Billy Rose Theatre Division Special Collections, The New York Public Library.
- Weinert-Kendt, Rob. A Little Light Music. thewickedstage.blogspot.com/2008/06/little-light-music.html.
- Williams, Rohan. “We Almost Got a Star Wars Musical.” Force Material, 6 Oct. 2019, www.forcematerial.com/home/2016/11/23/we-almost-got-a-star-wars-musical.