New York (AFP) - David Bowie, who performed an alien in the cult classic film "The Man Who Fell to Earth," has composed music for a new stage version in New York.

The British musician long known for his experimentalism has written new songs and arranged older music for the production late this year at the New York Theatre Workshop, it announced Thursday.

Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, the 1976 film starred Bowie as a humanoid who lands on Earth in search of water for his parched planet and becomes enamored with alcohol and television.

Few details were announced about the format of the stage version, but Bowie was not listed as performing.

"The Man Who Fell to Earth" was the first movie for Bowie but he did not write the music amid contractual disputes, instead leaving the task to singer-songwriter John Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas.

Bowie has long been fascinated by space and science fiction, emerging on the scene in 1969 with his astronaut anthem "Space Oddity" and later writing the probing "Life on Mars?"

Bowie studied acting and is known for his portrayal on Broadway in 1980-81 of severely deformed Englishman Joseph Merrick in "The Elephant Man."

Bowie, 68, kept quiet for a decade before releasing the album "The Next Day" in 2013.

He last year released the career-spanning collection "Nothing Has Changed" with new material.