James C. Nicola, the artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, said he was not sure how to describe the project — whether even to call it a musical — and said it been in secret development for some years.
He said Mr. Bowie, who declined to comment, had been seeking to do a theatrical work inspired by Walter Tevis’s 1963 novel “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” and brought the idea to Mr. van Hove, who in turn brought the project to Mr. Walsh and to the New York theater.
“It’s going to be a play with characters and songs — I’m calling it music theater, but I don’t really know what it’s going to be like, I just have incredible trust in their creative vision,” Mr. Nicola said. “I’m really excited about it. These are three very different sensibilities to be colliding.”
Mr. Nicola said that the show, which is scheduled to open late this year, would not retell the story of the book and film, but would feature some of the same characters.
The theater’s 2015-16 season will also include another world premiere, a play called “Fondly, Collette Richland,” fea
