Previews are scheduled to begin in late 2014 with an official opening in 2015.
Academy, Tony and Olivier Award-winning screenwriter and playwright Marshall Brickman — of Jersey Boys fame — is leading the creative team.
“I’m excited to be able to introduce Rogers to a new generation - and to re-introduce him to his older fans,” said Brickman in a statement. “At the height of his popularity, Roy had millions of fans worldwide and reigned for decades as the embodiment of simple, honest American values. It will be interesting to contrast that ideal with the current environment of ambivalence and moral uncertainty.”
Roy Rogers was one of the most heavily marketed stars of his era. Between 1945 and 1975, the Roy Rogers brand generated an estimated $1 billion in revenue derived from 88 films seen by an estimated 80 million people a year. The top-rated Roy Rogers TV show aired 100 episodes while selling 150 million comic books.
Additional creative team members, casting, theatre and dates will be announced at a later time.
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Happy Trails, LLC is a new joint venture developed by Larry Spangler (the Spangler Group) with the Roy Rogers Family Entertainment Corporation and The Roy and Dale Evans Rogers Children’s Trust (Roy “Dusty” Rogers Jr., Trustee), to reintroduce the Roy Rogers brand.