Alcon to Bring the Tony-Winning Musical 'Memphis' to the Big Screen

Alcon is bringing an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis to the big screen.

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Mark Gordon and Molly Smith are producing the film, which revolves around star-crossed lovers living in segregated Tennessee in the 1950s.

Joe DiPietro, who wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics with David Bryan, will pen the script.

The film, which is being financed by Alcon, will likely land at Warner Bros., where Alcon is based. Alcon, the company behind such hits as The Blind Side, delved into musical waters for the first time with this year's Joyful Noise, starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah.

The stage version of Memphis is loosely based on disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s. It was first staged in 2003 at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Mass., and TheatreWorks in Mountain View, Calif. It opened on Broadway on Oct. 19, 2009, and won four Tony Awards including best musical in 2010.

It ended its 1,166-performance Broadway run earlier this year and is now touring the United States.