'Hee Haw' musical headed to the stage.

Byline: Mark Kennedy

NEW YORK -- Get ready for a familiar mix of gentle, cornball jokes and country music when a stage version of "Hee Haw'' lands in Texas this fall.

"Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical'' will make its world premiere at Dallas Theater Center in September and its Grammy Award-nominated co-composer said it will be centered on a love story and feature all new characters.

"I would say they're 21st-century 'Hee Haw' characters,'' Brandy Clark told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We wouldn't want to try to just copy those characters. Those characters were too great to just be copied. They're kind of like the grandchildren of those characters.''

Clark is writing the score with Shane McAnally, who has written songs for Lady Antebellum, Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert. Clark called the songs "a little bit of everything'' but they tried to keep the score timeless and classic.

"What we've really shot for, Shane and I, was for someone to walk into this musical -- maybe someone who thinks they don't like country music -- and, when they leave, say, 'Wow, if that's was country music, I love it.' ''

The story -- set in present day -- is by Robert Horn, who has written episodes of "Living Single'' and "Designing Women,'' and directed by Gary Griffin, who also directed the Broadway show "Honeymoon in Vegas.''

Clark said she loved the process since she enjoys writing songs that tell a story, but had to adjust to the notion of telling...