''Urban Cowboy'' hitting Broadway

Forget helicopters landing on stage: Broadway’s hot new prop will be a wild mechanical bull, thanks to a new musical based on the 1980 John Travolta flick ”Urban Cowboy.” Rehearsals for the show will begin in January, followed by a February opening, according to Variety.

The movie, a blue-collar love story set in a roughneck bar, sparked a pre-Garth Brooks craze for country music — even though the soundtrack included such non-hat-wearing artists as Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, and Bob Seger. The musical will combine songs from the soundtrack with country standards and two new songs from Tony-winning Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown (”Parade”), according to Variety.

Travolta and Debra Winger’s roles will be taken by two newcomers to the stage, Mike Cavenaugh and Jenn Colella. They first displayed their bull-riding prowess when the musical opened in Florida earlier this month.Sorry, Floridians — its final performance there is on Sunday.