'Officer' tuner sets Sydney world preem

Richard Gere starred in the 1982 pic "An Officer and a Gentleman." SYDNEY -- Big-budget tuner "An Officer and a Gentleman -- The Musical," an Aussie-U.S. co-production based on the Richard Gere-starrer, will world preem in Sydney in May.Tuner was announced on Monday at a presser on board the HMAS Sydney, moored at the city's Garden Island naval base.The world preem will take place at the Lyric Theater on May 24, produced by Australia's Gordon Frost Organization and Sharleen Cooper Cohen, co-producer and co-writer of the show.Musical will be helmed by Simon Phillips, outgoing topper of the Melbourne Theater Company, and helmer of "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert -- The Musical" now on the London stage.Douglas Day Stewart, who wrote the movie script, will co-script the tuner with Cooper Cohen.Auditions were held in Sydney last week with casting now 80% completed. Tuner will also feature the key tune "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes that won an Oscar and Grammy upon release; a new score and songs will be provided by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner."All of the classic, beloved musicals in history have had source material and I went down the list of famous love stories and I thought that 'An Officer and a Gentleman' would sing to the world," Cooper-Cohen said at the launch. "It had every element of all the classic iconic musicals and it was based on brilliant source material. It's a movie that people see again and again, written by Douglas Day Stewart who told part of the story of his own life in it, so for me it was the perfect vehicle for a musical."Day Stewart said: "As an artist my greatest thrill was seeing how auds around the world would embrace this Cinderella tale. Today, with the help of this amazing team of Australian and American artists, we are about to bring this wonderful story of love and hope to the musical stage where we are confident it will inspire challenge and uplift many generations to come."Producer John Frost said the world preem further cemented Down Under's reputation as a pre-Gotham proving ground for tuners after it bowed "Doctor Zhivago," also produced by Frost, in February."It's bringing Americans and Australians together to do commercial new works," said Frost who aims to get a third new tuner up after "Officer."Oz is a cheaper option for tuner tryouts but Cooper-Cohen praised the talent pool and government support, while acknowledging that economics was a strong factor in her choice of preeming in Sydney."Frankly because it's a commercial run, the investors will make back their money and turn a profit hopefully," she said. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com