Elvis Costello, Neko Case to join the Stephen King/John Mellencamp collaboration

Pitchfork is reporting that Elvis Costello and Neko Case have joined Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, and others in the long-gestating Stephen King/John Mellencamp collaboration Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County. The musical, set to premiere in Atlanta late this year, tells the story of two (presumably ghost) brothers set in the ever-haunted American south. Ryan D’Agostino of Esquire described a reading he sat in on in 2007 as "not only tolerable, it's good. It may be the first-ever musical written by men for men. There's no orchestra, just two twangy acoustic guitars, an accordion, and a fiddle. The songs are both haunting and all-American.”

It's basically everything one could hope for from a King/Mellencamp collaboration: Costello and Case round out a cast that includes Rosanne Cash, Joe Frazier, Will Dailey, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Glenn Morshower, Mellencamp, and King (as a character named Uncle Steve).