The Almost Famous musical is getting the Broadway treatment
Cameron Crowe wrote the book and lyrics for the adaptation of his 2000 autobiographical film
Aux News Almost Famous
One of the most iconic music movies of all time is about to, somehow, add even more music. Almost Famous, the 2000 film directed by Cameron Crowe which chronicles his experience as a young journalist following bands for Rolling Stone, is set to become a Broadway musical. The adaptation, which Crowe wrote the book and lyrics for, will premiere at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on October 3, per the production’s website.
Jeremy Herrin will direct the production, with Tom Kitt contributing original music and lyrics. A version of the production first premiered in San Diego to open the Old Globe Theatre’s 2019-2020 season to critical acclaim; fittingly, much of Almost Famous takes place in the same Southern California area.
The original 2000 film, which stars Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, and an unforgettably curly-headed Kate Hudson, follows 15-year-old William Miller, (Fugit) an aspiring journalist who goes on tour with the fictional band Stillwater while working on his first cover feature for Rolling Stone. Despite the concerns of his frantic mother (Frances McDormand), Miller grows close with the band and their crew of marauding fans, and experiences all the highlights of the ‘70s music scene in the process.
The film has become equally as beloved for its coming-of-age story as its inarguably rocking jukebox soundtrack: “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, “Feel Flows” by the Beach Boys, “Thats The Way” by Led Zeppelin, and “Sparks” by The Who are just a few of the memorable selections on the Oscar-winning compilation.
A roster of experienced players make up the cast for the Broadway production: J Chris Wood of Supergirl will play Russell Hammond, Anika Larsen of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Elaine Miller, Solea Pfeiffer of Evita as Penny Lane, Drew Gehling of Waitress as Jeff Bebe, and and Casey Likes as William Miller.
3 Comments
Sounds like a show that’ll last a week.
Unlikely. It’s so wildly expensive to mount a new Broadway show that the producers and investors on this must be confident that it will have a solid run based on name recognition alone. And the fact that it’s opening in the fall means they likely think it has legs to make it through to the Tony’s in June.
Almost Famous is usually the movie I cite as my top favorite, so please keep that in mind when I say how much I completely lack ANY desire to see it as a stage musical. Can we go back to the days when every Broadway musical would inevitably get a film adaptation rather than the opposite that seems to have become the case in the past couple decades?