'Gone With The Wind' becoming a musical

LONDON, June 5 (UPI) -- The sweeping Civil War epic "Gone With The Wind" will be performed next year as a musical in London's theater district.

The adaptation will be directed by Trevor Nunn, who returns to West End's New London Theater where he launched Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" in 1981, the BBC reported Tuesday.

The 1939 Oscar-winning film starred Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

Nunn said in a statement he was "drawn to the challenge" of adapting Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for the stage.

The novel has been turned into a musical before. A Japanese production, "Scarlett," premiered in Tokyo in 1970 before being overhauled for the London stage in 1972, the BBC said.

Nunn said his production has been in development for three years and is expected to open in April 2008. It features music and lyrics of first-time composer Margaret Martin.

Producer Aldo Scrofani said the musical would "remain true to Margaret Mitchell's original story and characters, while also revealing its relevance to our lives today."