Jeff Buckley’s music may be joining the Who and Green Day on Broadway thanks to a new show that fuses his songs with William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The Last Goodbye was first conceived three years ago by Michael Kimmel, a New York director and theater professor who started up the project when he noticed how uncannily well Buckley’s lyrics accented the Bard’s language. With approval from Buckley’s estate, Kimmel created a musical using “New Year’s Prayer,” “So Real” and “Eternal Life” and other songs from the singer-songwriter’s catalog to further the classic play’s tale of ill-fated love.

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“Jeff’s music takes this idea of young emotion and passion to an entirely different level that we haven’t seen with the play before,” Kimmel explains. “What I love about the show is that it’s this great merging of a really strong writer and an amazing musician.” After well-received concert readings in New York last spring, Kimmel and his creative team are finalizing plans for a regional staging later this year. Interest from commercial producers has sparked hope for a Broadway transfer during the 2010-2011 season, but Kimmel isn’t planning too far ahead: “All the attention the piece has gotten has been really exciting, but for us, it’s about getting it right.”