Sharon Stone in musical hailing Gorbachev’s Green Cross

Sharon Stone and Cat Stevens will take part in a musical in September honouring an environmental group founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, organisers said Wednesday.

The musical “2050: The Future We Want” will be performed on September 3 at the United Nations in Geneva to mark the 20 years since Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, founded Green Cross International to address environmental issues as well as poverty and insecurity.

The US actress and the British musician, who since the late 70s has gone by his Islamic-convert name Yusuf Islam, will be joined by a cast of 40 youths from around the globe, aged eight to 25, and a 100-strong choir.

“I can’t wait to start working with young artists from all over the world who, 20 years after president Gorbachev launched his global mission, are showing that there is a way forward, but only if we act now,” Stone said in a statement.

Stone will function as the storyteller in the piece, guiding the audience back through time from 2050 to today, showing how to resolve some of the critical challenges facing the world, including climate change and poverty, the statement said.

The musical is being co-produced by Green Cross and Peace Child International, which began setting up musicals during the Cold War in an attempt to bring young people from the United States and the Soviet Union together to help resolve the conflict.

The cast will begin two weeks of intensive rehearsals on August 18 in Geneva, the organisers said, adding that they aimed to make the show available to schools and organisations after the September 3 performance.