Almost Famous (musical)

Last updated
Almost Famous
The Musical
Almost Famous broadway.jpg
Broadway promotional poster
Music Tom Kitt
Lyrics
Book Cameron Crowe
Basis Almost Famous
by Cameron Crowe
PremiereSeptember 27, 2019: The Old Globe, San Diego
Productions

Almost Famous is a 2019 stage musical with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Cameron Crowe and Kitt, and a book by Crowe. It is based on the 2000 film of the same name written and directed by Crowe.

Contents

The musical is about a teenager who becomes a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s, based loosely on Crowe's life. The show debuted in San Diego at The Old Globe in 2019, with previews beginning on September 13 and a premiere on September 27. It ran through October 27. [1] Creative work continued during the COVID-19 shutdown. [2] [3] Like the film, the musical begins in the San Diego, California home of the Miller family, progresses to the San Francisco offices of Rolling Stone magazine, and then travels through the United States on tour with the band Stillwater. [4]

The Broadway production began previews on October 3, 2022, and opened November 3, 2022 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to mainly negative reviews. [5] [6] On December 19, it was announced that the show would close on January 8, 2023, after 30 previews and 77 performances. [7] Despite the poor reception, it received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 76th Tony Awards. [8]

In November 2023, Tom Kitt and Cameron Crowe reentered the development stage of their musical adaptation of Almost Famous with a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Public readings of the workshop was given on November 11, 15, and 18 at 7 PM at the Waterford, Connecticut, venue. [9]

Cast and characters

Character San Diego (2019) [10] Broadway (2022) [11]
William MillerCasey Likes
Penny Lane Solea Pfeiffer
Russell Hammond Colin Donnell Chris Wood
Elaine Miller Anika Larsen
Jeff Bebe Drew Gehling
Lester Bangs Rob Colletti
Anita MillerEmily Schultheis
DarrylDaniel Sovich
David FeltonVan Hughes
EstrellaJulia Cassandra
SapphireKatie Ladner
PolexiaStorm LeverJana Djenne Jackson
Larry FellowsMatt Bittner
Silent EdBrandon Contreras
Dick Roswell Gerard Canonico
Ben Fong-Torres Matthew C. Yee
Vic NettlesChad Burris
Dennis HopeSam GravitteJakeim Hart
LeslieLibby Winters

Musical numbers

Source: Playbill [12]


†Not on Original Broadway Cast Recording
‡Written for the film by Nancy Wilson
+Included as bonus track on cast album, along with “Anything’s Possible” sung by Solea Pfeiffer

Awards and nominations

2022 Broadway production

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2023 Tony Awards Best Original Score Tom Kitt and Cameron Crowe Nominated
Drama Desk Awards [13] Outstanding Music Tom Kitt, AnnMarie Milazzo (vocal designer)Nominated
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical Peter Hylenski Nominated
Outstanding Wig and HairCampbell Young AssociatesNominated
Theatre World Award [14] Casey LikesHonoree

Related Research Articles

<i>Into the Woods</i> 1987 musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

Into the Woods is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Crowe</span> American filmmaker

Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career as a contributing editor and writer at Rolling Stone magazine in 1973 where he covered numerous rock bands on tour.

<i>Almost Famous</i> 2000 film by Cameron Crowe

Almost Famous is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It tells the story of a teenage journalist, played by Fugit, writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 1970s, touring with the fictitious rock band Stillwater, and writing his first cover story on the band. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Whitty</span> American screenwriter, playwright, performer (born 1971)

Jeffrey Daniel Whitty is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Arden</span> American actor

Michael Jerrod Moore, known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, singer, musician, and theatre director. Arden won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2023 for the revival of the musical Parade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Leavel</span> American actress

Beth Leavel is an American stage and screen actress and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Nicholaw</span> American theatre professional

Casey Nicholaw is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. He has been nominated for several Tony Awards for his work directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), The Book of Mormon (2011), Aladdin (2014), Something Rotten! (2015), Mean Girls (2018), The Prom (2019), and Some Like It Hot (2023) and for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), winning for his co-direction of The Book of Mormon with Trey Parker and his choreography of Some Like It Hot. He also was nominated for the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Direction and Choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006) and Something Rotten! (2015) and for Outstanding Choreography for Spamalot (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kitt (musician)</span> American composer and musician

Thomas Robert Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey. He has also won two Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal, as well as Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations for If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards, winning one, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Jagged Little Pill in 2021.

<i>White Christmas</i> (musical) Musical by Irving Berlin, David Ives and Paul Blake

White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The book is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The original St. Louis production starred Lara Teeter, Karen Mason, Lauren Kennedy, and Lee Roy Reams, and the 2004 San Francisco production starred Brian D'Arcy James, Anastasia Barzee, Meredith Patterson, and Jeffry Denman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Yorkey</span> American playwright

Brian Yorkey is an American playwright and lyricist. His works often explore dark and controversial subject matter such as mental illness, grief, the underbelly of suburbia, and ethics in both psychiatry and public education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Cusack</span> American actress

Carmen Cusack is an American musical theater actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, North American Tour, and Melbourne productions of the musical Wicked and for originating the roles of Alice Murphy and Clare Boothe Luce in the Broadway musicals Bright Star and Flying Over Sunset, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Uranowitz</span> American stage and television actor (born 1986)

Brandon Jacob Uranowitz is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Adam Hochberg in the musical An American in Paris (2014–15) and Mendel Weisenbachfeld in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos, both of which earned him nominations for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His performances in Burn This (2019) and Leopoldstadt (2022–23) earned him nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play; he won the award for his performance in Leopoldstadt. His other Broadway credits include Baby, It's You! (2011), Prince of Broadway (2017), and The Band's Visit (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Platt</span> American actor and singer (born 1993)

Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. Platt, the son of film and theater producer Marc Platt, began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, the youngest solo recipient of the award at the time, in addition to a Daytime Emmy, and Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. He then played Leo Frank in the 2022 New York City Center Gala production of Parade, which transferred to Broadway in 2023 and earned him another nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anika Larsen</span> American actress and singer (born 1973)

Anika Larsen is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2014 for portraying Cynthia Weil in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Larsen has made an album of recordings titled, Sing You To Sleep.

<i>SpongeBob SquarePants</i> (musical) Stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow. It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and made its world premiere in June 2016 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. Following a month of previews, the musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in December 2017.

Jagged Little Pill is a jukebox musical with music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and book by Diablo Cody, with additional music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth. The musical is inspired by the 1995 album of the same name by Morissette and deals with pain, healing, and empowerment. It premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 5, 2018, directed by Diane Paulus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures</span>

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is the live show, stageplay and musical production arm of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company forms a part of Warner Bros., one of the major business segments of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is led by Mark Kaufman.

Kyle Andrew Selig is an American actor, dancer, and singer. He is known for originating the role of Aaron Samuels in the 2018 Tony Award-nominated musical, Mean Girls and for playing the role of Mr. Komos in Monster High: The Movie.

Flying Over Sunset is a musical with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Michael Korie, and book by James Lapine. The musical is a fictional account of a meeting between Aldous Huxley, Clare Boothe Luce and Cary Grant, who all used the drug LSD.

<i>A Strange Loop</i> 2019 stage musical by Michael R. Jackson

A Strange Loop is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2022. The show won Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (2019-09-27). "World Premiere Musical Adaptation of Almost Famous Opens at the Old Globe September 27". Playbill. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  2. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2022-06-02). "'Almost Famous,' Now a Musical, Will Open on Broadway This Fall". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  3. ↑ Messman, Lauren (2019-04-26). "'Almost Famous' Musical to Open in San Diego". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  4. ↑ Charles McNulty (September 29, 2019). "Review: In the 'Almost Famous' musical, Cameron Crowe's coming-of-age rock tale burns bright".
  5. ↑ "DidTheyLikeIt - Almost Famous". DidTheyLikeIt. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  6. ↑ Evans, Greg (2022-07-07). "'Almost Famous' Musical Sets New Broadway Opening Date, Lands Venue".
  7. ↑ Huston, Caitlin (December 19, 2022). "'Almost Famous' to Close on Broadway in January". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  8. ↑ Sherman, Rachel (May 2, 2023). "Tony Awards Nominations 2023: The Complete List". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ Dorsey, Kristina. "A new 'Almost Famous': Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt bring musical to O'Neill in Waterford". www.theday.com. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
  10. ↑ "Almost Famous Cast in San Diego" (PDF). theoldglobe.org. The Old Globe. September 13, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Almost Famous Cast on Broadway". playbill.com. Playbill Vault. November 3, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Almost Famous (Broadway, Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 2021)". Playbill. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Shucked, Some Like It Hot Lead 2023 Drama Desk Award Nominations". 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  14. ↑ Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Julie Benko, Jodie Comer & More Will Receive 2023 Theatre World Awards". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.