New musical to give intimate portrait of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller’s marriage

Misfits Together, by Bastille's Dan Smith and To Kill a King's Ralph Pelleymounter, is set amid the 1950s' red scare'

It was lampooned as the union of the hourglass" and the egghead" - the marriage, in the summer of 1956, between Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe and Pulitzer-winning playwright Arthur Miller. Now, a new stage musical is to give a nuanced and intimate portrait of that famous relationship, treat each as trailblazers in their own way and reveal parallels between the volatile state of the US during the 50s red scare" and now.

The production, which opens next autumn at Leicester's Curve, is called Misfits Together, a reference to the film Miller wrote for Monroe that was released shortly after their divorce in 1961. It is a foray into musical theatre by two indie musicians, Dan Smith of the band Bastille and Ralph Pelleymounter from To Kill a King, who have recorded the score as a studio album. The first track, Oh America, is out on Thursday.