Former drug executive and “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli sparked outrage among patients, medical societies, and lawmakers after his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000% to $750 a pill. Later he was arrested on fraud charges that he ran his investment funds and companies almost like a Ponzi scheme.
Now he’s set to become a musical theater character.
On Tuesday, a pair of playwrights began raising funds for a musical about the life of Shkreli, the New York Post reports. Tentatively titled Martin Shkreli’s Game: How Bill Murray Joined the Wu-Tang Clan,” the satire centers on Shkreli’s $2 million purchase of the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin (over which he was subsequently sued by an artist whose work appeared on the packaging).
In the heist musical, Murray teams up with the Wu-Tang Clan to burgle the album from Shkreli. Its title refers to rumors that Murray was allowed by the album’s sale contract to steal back the $2 million album. (He wasn’t.)
Lauren Gundrum and writing partner Joel Esher are trying to raise $6,500 for the production, the Post reports.
“Shkreli’s just such an interesting character,” show lyricist Gundrum told the Post. “Shkreli buying this album is hilarious and so in character.”
A highlight of the planned hour-long musical, which is set to premiere on July 19 at the Midtown International Theatre Festival, will no doubt be the rousing musical number, “I’m Martin F***ing Shkreli and You Can all Go F**k Yourselves.”
Coins2Day has reached out to Shkreli via Twitter and will update this story if he responds.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Lauren Gundrum as the show’s composer.
