The Heart of Rock and Roll (musical)
The Heart of Rock and Roll is a jukebox musical set to debut at the James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway in 2024. It features the hits of the band Huey Lewis and the News, and is named after their 1983 song of the same name.
| The Heart of Rock and Roll | |
|---|---|
| A New Musical Comedy | |
Broadway Promotional Poster | |
| Music | Huey Lewis and the News Arranged by: Brian Usifer |
| Lyrics | Huey Lewis and others |
| Book | Jonathan A. Abrams |
| Productions | 2018 San Diego 2024 Broadway |
The show is a musical comedy revolving around a couple balancing their romance amidst their rock and roll world and corporate world dreams. It is not a biographical piece about the band.[1]
Origin edit
Going back to at least 2010, producer and writer Tyler Mitchell, whose father-in-law is a good friend of Huey Lewis, first proposed the idea of a musical featuring the band's songs to Lewis. Lewis said he had thought of the idea before, but did not know how the band's songs could be linked together into a story, "because they have nothing to do with each other."[2] Mitchell then connected with Jonathan Abrams to write a draft original story, and they continued to hone the story over time.[2]
Production history edit
San Diego (2018) edit
Huey Lewis first publicly announced the future show in a video with Jimmy Kimmel in February 2018, with Kimmel claiming he was quitting his show to star as Huey in the show, and then being crushed to learn Lewis was not a character in the show. At that time, a venue and debut date was not yet set.[3] It debuted at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in September 2018, where it opened previews on September 6, opened on September 14, and ran through October 21, 2018. Matt Doyle and Katie Rose Clarke starred in that production.[4] Doyle actually grew up down the street from Lewis in Ross, California, and already knew the band's music well when he auditioned.[5] The debut was only a few months after Lewis announced he had Ménière's disease and could no longer perform, and he was glad to be to focus on the show to stay involved with music.[6]
Broadway (2024) edit
In November 2023, it was announced that the show will transfer to Broadway in the Spring of 2024. The show is expected to begin previews on March 29, 2024 with an opening night scheduled for April 22 at the James Earl Jones Theatre.[1] The Broadway cast was announced in January 2024.[7][4]John Dossett, F. Micheal Haynie, Orville Mendoza, and Billy Harrigan Tighe were cast for the same roles they played in the San Diego production.[8]
The show will directed by Gordon Greenberg, choreographed by Lorin Latarro, and with a book by Jonathan A. Abrams, derived from the story written by Abrams and Mitchell. Mitchell is producing with Hunter Arnold and Kayla Greenspan.[1] The music supervisor/arranger is Brian Usifer and the music director is Will Van Dyke.[9]
Cast and characters edit
| Character | San Diego[10] |
|---|---|
| 2018 | |
| Bobby | Matt Doyle |
| Cassandra | Katie Rose Clarke |
| Wyatt | Christopher Ramirez |
| Glenn | F. Michael Haynie |
| Paige | Paige Faure |
| Roz | Patrice Covington |
| JJ | Lucas Papaelias |
| Eli | Zachary Noah Piser |
| Fjord | Orville Mendoza |
| Tucker | Billy Harrigan Tighe |
| Stone | John Dossett |
References edit
- ^ a b c Paulsen, Michael (1 November 2023). Huey Lewis and the News Musical Is Coming to Broadway in March, The New York Times
- ^ a b Henerson, Evan (13 September 2018). Bringing Huey Lewis’ Music to a Stage Musical, Jewish Journal
- ^ Blistein, Jon (8 February 2018). Huey Lewis and the News Musical in the Works, Rolling Stone
- ^ a b Russo, Gillian (1 November 2023). 'The Heart of Rock and Roll' to open on Broadway this spring, New York Theatre Guide
- ^ Tatro, Samantha (29 August 2018). Broadway Actor Who Grew Up Down the Street From Huey Lewis Comes Full Circle Starring in Musical Based off His Music, 7 San Diego
- ^ Carannante, Greg (11 December 2018). Huey Lewis returns to familiar waters as Winterfest Boat Parade grand marshal, Sun Sentinel
- ^ Evans, Greg (16 January 2024). Huey Lewis Broadway Musical Finds Its Rock & Roll Hearts In Corey Cott And McKenzie Kurtz, Deadline
- ^ Th Heart of Rock and Rock, theoldglobe.org, Retrieved 12 February 2024
- ^ Gans, Andrew (17 July 2023). Jonah Platt, Katie Rose Clarke, Tamika Lawrence, Manu Narayan, More Cast in The Heart of Rock & Roll Workshop, Playbill
- ^ "The Heart of Rock & Roll | The Old Globe". www.theoldglobe.org. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
External links edit
- The Heart of Rock and Roll at the Internet Broadway Database
- Official Broadway show website