Unrecorded Lennon on Broadway

Three John Lennon songs that he never professionally recorded will be in the biographical Broadway musical “Lennon” next summer, said Don Scardino, the show’s writer, director and co-producer.

At a meeting with the show’s creative team a couple of weeks ago, Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, mentioned the songs, which were on a homemade recording that she then allowed the team to hear. “My head was about to explode,” Scardino recalled.

Two of the songs are completely unpublished: “India, India,” about Lennon’s trip to that country, and a ballad, “I Don’t Want to Lose You,” which will be included at a point in the show at which Lennon and Ono reunite after a year’s separation.

The third song, “Cooking in the Kitchen of Love,” was recorded by Beatle Ringo Starr but never by Lennon. It will be used in the show to depict Lennon’s transition to househusband duties.

Lennon “was a musical diarist,” Scardino said. “These songs move the stories forward.”