As previously reported, Australian director Simon Phillips, who staged the Melbourne reincarnation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies and the jukebox musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert, directs the musical about a Navy airman and the woman he loves. Richard Gere and Debra Winger starred in the original film.

An Officer and a Gentleman will debut at Sydney's Lyric Theatre May 24, 2012. The musical is co-authored by Sharleen Cooper Cohen and has music and lyrics by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner.

A New York workshop took place in June 2010. At that time, the creative team stated plans to debut the musical at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2012 with Canada and New York to follow. No plans beyond the 2012 Sydney run have been announced.

Phillips also helmed the Australian production of Priscilla, which took a similar route to Broadway, with stops in London and Toronto in between.

The New York workshop also included the film's signature song "[Love Lift Us] Up Where We Belong."

Sharleen Cooper Cohen and John Frost produce. Sydney won out over offers to premiere the musical in New York and London.

"When we held a workshop of the musical in 2009, I knew instantly that I wanted to produce this wonderful show. It is a timeless tale of struggle, success, friendship and love, based on one of the most popular films of all time," Frost said in a statement.