Curve and Tila Arts have announced the world premiere of Misfits Together, a new musical inspired by the relationship between 20th-century icons Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.
Featuring music and lyrics by Bastille frontman Dan Smith and Ralph Pelleymounter, with a book by Charlotte Bogard Macleod, the production will run in Curve’s Studio Theatre from 4 September to 2 October 2027.
Directed by Curve Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, the musical explores the romance between Monroe and Miller against the backdrop of 1950s America, examining themes of artistic integrity, political justice and personal identity.
The production follows Monroe as she challenges Hollywood’s treatment of its stars while Miller confronts the pressures of McCarthyism and political blacklisting. Blending historical events with a contemporary rock score, the musical aims to reframe the story of two cultural figures whose lives continue to resonate today.
Alongside the stage production, the musical’s score has been recorded as a studio album, also titled Misfits Together. The album is available to pre-order, with its first single, “Oh America”, released today.
Curve Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: “Collaborating with Dan, Ralph and Charlotte on the development of MISFITS TOGETHER has been a massively inspiring experience. Exploring a story which deals with iconic titans Monroe and Miller was always going to be exhilarating, but in the hands of our visionary writers, the collision of these enduring life stories, 1950s Hollywood, reclaiming Marilyn’s incredible story against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile world, has reached dizzying heights, signalling the birth of a truly great musical. We are thrilled to share this audacious new musical with our fantastic Curve audiences, who will be moved and exhilarated in equal measure by this sensational score.”
Smith and Pelleymounter said: “This is a 75-year-old story and yet it still feels so relevant: the polarising politics, the sexism, the threat of career-ending blacklists, all feel like they could be from today’s newspapers. We wanted the music to reflect this so we created a collection of songs that we hope feel modern and timeless. This is the first time we have written songs for a musical and we enjoyed the sense of freedom and play that comes with exploring a brand new creative medium. To be able to now say they’ll be heard by audiences in a world premiere Made at Curve production still feels unbelievable!
“During this entire process there was this weight of responsibility that comes with telling other people’s stories, especially when, as with Marilyn, the person died so young and so was robbed of the chance to tell their own. We hope we’ve brought an interesting and thoughtful perspective to this poignant, powerful story.”
Charlotte Bogard Macleod said: “Marilyn’s luminous beauty dazzled, blinding the world to her true intelligence. Arthur Miller was the one person smart enough to see past the dazzle and understand Marilyn’s brilliance as an artist. He supported her in struggles against Hollywood’s misogyny, and she supported his defiance of McCarthyism.
“We wrote Misfits Together to celebrate Marilyn and Arthur’s smart and sexy love story. It was a total joy collaborating with Dan and Ralph, we were invigorated by our research, intoxicated by the writing process. It was an extraordinary privilege to be in the room with Nikolai Foster, who helped us weave scenes and songs together. We hope you will enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed writing it. We’re really, really excited to share it with you.”
Casting for the production will be announced at a later date.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
