Technically not a screen-to-stage adaptation as it's officially based directly on the novel by James Leo Herlihy,
Midnight Cowboy is regardless a musical that's fated to be compared to the beloved 1969 movie; which I actually haven't seen, as it turns out, but Ian's a fan and informs me that Max Bowden's performance as Rico 'Ratso' Rizzo is... shall we say not entirely uninfluenced by Dustin Hoffman's performance in the film. Bryony Lavery (book) and Francis 'Eg' White's (music and lyrics) adaptation follows Joe Buck (Paul Jacob French) from Texas (or possibly Arkansas) to New York, where he intends to make his fortune selling sex for cash. Given his homophobic comments early on it's clear that one of the many ways he's deluded himself is in thinking this will involve vaginal sex, but he's soon disabused of this notion.
