Stallone, Klitschkos to present first ‘Rocky’ musical

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

US superstar Sylvester Stallone has teamed up with heavyweight boxing legends Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko for what is billed as the world’s first musical version of “Rocky,” producers said Monday.

Stallone said he had always envisaged creating a musical version of the 1976 Oscar-winning rags-to-riches story of Rocky Balboa, a down-at-heel amateur boxer who bravely fights the world champion in a bruising and bloody bout.

“I always had the idea of Rocky as a musical. At the end of the day, ‘Rocky’ is a love story and he could never have reached the final bell without Adrian,” Balboa’s girlfriend in the film, said Stallone.

“To see this story coming to life on a musical stage makes me proud. And it would make Rocky proud,” added Stallone, whose Hollywood career was launched by the film.

The musical will incorporate many of the tub-thumping hits from the film, said producers Stage Entertainment, including “Eye of the Tiger” and “Gonna Fly Now.”

Actors to be trained

The Klitschko brothers will co-produce the musical along with Stallone and train the main actors in the art of boxing, Stage Entertainment spokesman Holger Kersting told AFP.

Wladimir said he and his brother had adored the films as boys.

“Seeing Sylvester Stallone in ‘Rocky’ when we were kids actually was the reason for us to start boxing in the first place, he said.

“We are very excited to support this theatrical project.”

Rocky - the musical opens in Hamburg, northern Germany, in November 2012.

The Rocky film series has grossed more than $1.25 billion at the worldwide box office