A musical by John Mellencamp and Stephen King, scheduled to be produced next season in Atlanta, has been postponed, the Alliance Theatre announced Monday.

The Alliance announced in February that “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,” with music by Mellencamp and a book by horror master King, would open in April 2009, with the object of preparing it for a Broadway run.

The Alliance notified subscribers on Monday that the project has been delayed because of “unanticipated scheduling problems which could not be resolved in time for the production.”

Members of the creative team “realized the script would not be ready by spring 2009,” the statement said.

In the February announcement, the Alliance described the play as “a sultry Southern gothic mystery with a blues-tinged, guitar-driven score.” Peter Askin was announced as the director.

The story is set in the fictional town of Lake Belle Reve, Miss., and centers on the deaths in 1957 of two brothers and a young girl and the legend that grows out of the tragedy.

The Alliance said it now hopes to produce the show during its 2009-2010 season.

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Alliance Theatre: http://www.alliancetheatre.org