Sir Paul McCartney writes the musical It's A Wonderful Life

During his career, Sir Paul McCartney has written films, oratorios, poetry books, children's books and more than 100 hits.

Today, at the age of 77, he is taking on a new challenge: his first musical comedy.

The star is currently working on an adaptation of Frank Capra's clbadic, It's a Wonderful Life, which tells the story of a suicidal man saved by his guardian angel.

Sir Paul, who was four years old when the film was released in 1946, called it a "universal narrative to which we can all relate".

The musical is expected to debut in "late 2020," according to producer Bill Kenwright, whose previous credits include the West End Blood Brothers show and Joseph's touring version and the incredible Dream Coat Technicolor.

Lee Hall, who wrote Billy Elliot and Elton John's recent biopic, Rocketman, writes the screenplay and collaborates with Sir Paul on the lyrics.

"It's a wonderful life, it's my favorite movie," said the Tony Award winner. "He has absolutely everything – comedy, pathos and a rare humanity that has touched from generation to generation.

"Giving life to the stage is a huge privilege, but doing it with Paul McCartney is out of the ordinary.

"Paul's spirit, his emotional honesty and melodic brilliance bring a new depth and breadth to the clbadic tale, and I feel like an angel has to take care of me."

This is not the first time Oscar-nominated Capra's film has been turned into a musical.

An unfortunate adaptation was staged in the United States in 1986, with the words of Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler On The Roof) and the music of Joe Raposo, composer of the television series Sesame Street, author of C Is For Cookie and Sing . by the carpenters.

Originally performed at the University of Michigan, it suffered repeated delays as a result of a dispute over the rights of the story on which the film is based, Philip Van's novel The Greatest Gift Doren Stern.

At the time of the staging of the first professional production in 1991, Raposo had died of cancer. A 2006 rebirth outside of Broadway received mixed reviews, with the New York Times criticizing the changes made to the movie's plot, and the lack of "emotional punch" in the series.

Critic Anita Gates concluded: "It was a wonderful life".

A more recent adaptation, by Keith Ferguson and Bruce Greer, continues to visit churches and schools in the United States.

& # 39; Deceptively simple & # 39;

Bill Kenwright said he had the ambition to turn the film into a musical well before either of the American productions took shape, writing to director Frank Capra for ask him permission at the very beginning of his career.

Although he received a "nice handwritten letter," his approach was rejected. Decades later, he was offered rights "unannounced" and he contacted Sir Paul to see if he would be interested in writing music.

"Like a lot of things, it all started with an email," said the former Beatle.

"Writing a musical is not something that really pleased me, but Bill and I met Lee Hall and talked and thought it might be interesting and fun."

Kenwright said the star's first demos "exceeded expectations."

"The songs take you somewhere where you do not expect – they look simple – but it's misleading – it's Paul's genius."

With James Stewart and Donna Reed, it's a wonderful box office life when it was released in 1946.

However, it has become a beloved Christmas staple and has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American movies ever made.

Sir Paul's music has been frequently used on stage, notably as part of Cirque Du Soleil's ambitious Beatles show, Love.

The star also wrote a musical, Give My Regards to Broad Street, which was criticized by critics when it was released in 1984.

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