Advertisement
U.S. markets closed
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • Dow 30

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • Russell 2000

    2,124.55
    +10.20 (+0.48%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.04
    +1.69 (+2.08%)
     
  • Gold

    2,242.20
    +29.50 (+1.33%)
     
  • Silver

    24.98
    +0.23 (+0.92%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0791
    -0.0039 (-0.36%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2625
    -0.0013 (-0.11%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.3810
    +0.1350 (+0.09%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,813.38
    +1,875.72 (+2.72%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Auditions are being held to play pharma bro Martin Shkreli in a new musical

A new musical about Martin Shkreli will be playing at the Midtown International Theater Festival this summer.

Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, winks as he arrives at U.S. Federal Court in New York, U.S., June 6, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (REUTERS)

Auditions are being held this weekend to play Martin Shkreli in a upcoming musical about the infamous millionaire, hoverboard-riding pharma bro called "Martin Shkreli's Game."

“Remember when the internet thought that Bill Murray could legally steal back the $2 million Wu-Tang Clan album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, from that pharma bro Martin Shkreli? Well, get excited world, because we’re bringing that heist to you! That's right, this show has Bill Murray teaming up with the Wu-Tang Clan in an epic battle against the most hated man in America. Will Bill Murray succeed, or will he just end up another pawn in Martin Shkreli's Game?” the musical’s website says.

Shkreli, 32, became infamous last September when he was the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and raised the price of a drug called Daraprim — used to treat parasitic infections — from $13.50 to $750 per pill.

Only adding to the ire, it was revealed in December that Shkreli had purchased the only copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s latest album back in August for $2 million and he hadn’t even listened to it.

Soon after, a fake sales contract made the rounds on the web that Bill Murray and Wu-Tang could take the album from Shkreli.

“We followed the exchange between Wu-Tang and Shkreli when he was bidding on the album,” the musical’s writer and lyricist Lauren Gundrum said, adding that it was “such a bizarre story.”

The musical’s plot begins with Shkreli winning the Wu-Tang album auction and follows Bill Murray and Wu-Tang as they attempt a heist to reclaim it. Some of the songs include “I’m Martin F—kin’ Shkreli” and “Every Day’s The Same When You’re Bill Murray.”

“We’re trying to explore different sides of Shkreli’s character,” Gundrum said. “On one hand, he’s the most hated. He’s also very clearly intelligent. He treats the world kind of as his financial game. It’s unclear what his motivation is sometimes… We’re trying to show both sides of that and let the audience decide for themselves.”

Gundrum said the the musical’s composer Joel Esher called Shkreli during one of his livestreams and asked what he would do if someone wrote a musical about him. According to Gundrum, Shkreli responded that he wouldn’t care.

In addition to casting Shkreli, they’re also looking for a Bill Murray and Wu-Tang members RZA, GZA, and Ghostface Killah. Someone has already been cast to play the ghost of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The 70-minute show will play in the Midtown International Theater Festival this summer beginning July 19.

Meanwhile, the real-life fate of the Wu-Tang album is unclear.

On December 17, Shkreli was arrested by the FBI on charges of securities fraud related to a now-defunct hedge fund he previously managed. Specifically, Shkreli has been accused of defrauding investors in his hedge fund by making "material misrepresentations" about the performance and assets under management. He's also accused of preventing investors from redeeming their capital.

The US government’s complaint says it may "seek forfeiture" of "any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to any such offenses." On the day of the arrest, the FBI Tweeted that it did not take the Wu-Tang album.

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.

Read more:

The real-life hero of 'The Big Short' dumped a bunch of bank stocks

Raoul Pal: The stock market is behaving the way it did back in 2000

We just got a sign that business is bouncing back on Wall Street

Hedge fund titans warn of financial crisis-like market signals

Billionaire Rubenstein: These 6 traits will help you succeed on Wall Street

Advertisement