Following Oprah Winfrey (“The Color Purple”) and Jay-Z, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith (“Fela!”) in lending their names to favorite Broadway shows, Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, have signed on to the producing team of the upcoming Broadway transfer “Next Fall,” a new play about the happiness, strains and religious differences between two gay men over the course of their five-year romantic relationship. The publicists for the production announced the arrangement on February 1, 2010.

As producers, Elton and David have put money into the show — no one involved in the production would say how much — and will lend their marquee names to the show’s publicity and audience material in hopes of drawing attention to the show.

Written by Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Sheryl Kaller, the Naked Angels production of “Next Fall” — which drew critical acclaim during an Off Broadway run last summer — is moving to the Helen Hayes Theater without a star actor, director or playwright, a risky proposition on Broadway today. “Next Fall” is scheduled to begin previews on February 16, 2010 and open on March 11, 2010.

Elton and David previously worked on Broadway with “Billy Elliot: The Musical,” for which Elton was nominated for best original score and David served as an executive producer. They are also collaborating on a score for a film, “Showstopper.”

In a statement provided by the publicist, Elton and David said: “We are excited to join the team bringing Geoffrey Nauffts’ extraordinary play to Broadway. After fulfilling experiences bringing new musicals to the stage, it was seeing this inspiring and timely new work that attracted us to take on our first play.”

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