Heart of Rock and Roll at the Old Globe

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 6:27am

It just started previews in San Diego, and Huey Lewis has talked about his hopes to bring it to Broadway. Anyone see it?

[Maceball]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 1:46pm

I would like to know who on the production team was reading my Livejournal back in 2005. I was JOKING, you guys!

The Heart of Rock and Roll! A musical based on the songs of Huey Lewis

[Jul. 25th, 2005|06:41 pm]

Act 1: 

Huey, a steel-worker living in Pennsylvania, dreams of someday getting away and fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a ****ty, corporate bar-band rock star ("Workin' for a Livin'". He moves to New York, where he gets a job as a bartender and meets Molly, a lawyer ("Heart and Soul". Molly's parents disapprove of her growing friendship with low-class Huey ("Do You Believe In Love?", but she falls in love with him anyway ("Power of Love". Huey writes a hit song, and along with his new band The News, becomes an overnight sensation ("Jacob's Ladder". As the Act comes to a close, Huey IS "The Heart of Rock and Roll". 

Act 2: 

Huey is beginning to feel the grind of a life on the road ("Workin' for a Livin'" Reprise). He turns to drugs to keep himself going ("I Want A New Drug". He begins to withdraw from Molly and the new baby, and she confronts him in a heartbreaking duet ("Is It Me?"/"Stuck With You". Nevertheless, the drugs continue to take over Huey's life, until finally Molly leaves him ("If This Is It". Huey hits rock bottom, is fired from the band, and realizes that his only hope for a future is to go "Back In Time". He enters rehab, never forgetting why he is cleaning himself up ("Doing It All For My Baby". Finally, a clean and sober Huey returns to Pennsylvania with Molly and young Marty, older but wiser, to start a new, even-less-interesting life together ("Hip to Be Square". For the finale, the entire cast comes out into the audience and tries to jackboot everyone into singing along to "The Heart of Rock And Roll" Reprise.

 

Updated On: 9/7/18 at 01:46 PM

[Alessio2]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 3:42pm

I'm driving down from LA to see it later in its run towards the end of October! Can't wait!

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 9:00pm

No reports?  It just had its opening night.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 9/16/18 at 2:12am

Saw it last Sat night when still in previews. Didn't go in with a lot of expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised.  Enjoyed it a lot, Matt Doyle and Katie Rose Clarke are excellent as the leads, and I thought Paige Faure and John Dossett were standouts in limited roles.

Has the usual issue of jukebox musicals of squeezing existing songs into the storyline, but it mostly works in this show.  I'm not a huge Huey Lewis fan, and I probably only recognized about 75% of the songs.  I will definitely see this at least once more during the run, and definitely think it has a future beyond San Diego

Largely in agreement with today's San Diego Union-Tribune review

Huey Lewis musical 'Heart' has splash and soul in Old Globe world premiere, if a boxed-in plot

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 9/16/18 at 11:10pm

I’m a pretty big snob when it comes to juke-box musicals. (I almost got up and walked out of AINT TOO PROUD when I saw it last month.). So I didn’t have high expectations.

But I loved this show. Loved it? Is it perfect? No, but it’s better than almost every juke-box musical I’ve seen. Is it groundbreaking? No. But it’s really well-told and more importantly, I cared. I completely disagree with the SD review. I think the characters relatable ambitions are the strength of the show because it makes them feel real and honest — not like characters in a play but real life people.

I won’t go on and on about this since I posted a ridiculously long IG post about it and don’t wanna repeat myself but this show made me feel and tear up more than any original show I’ve seen the last couple of years besides DEAR EVAN HANSEN, THE BAND’S VISIT and maybe BANDSTAND. I’m already making plans to try and get back down to San Diego from LA to see it again before it closes.