HEART OF ROCK & ROLL to open on Broadway this season

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:25pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Rialto-Chatter-THE-HEART-OF-ROCK-AND-ROLL-Will-Open-On-Broadway-This-Season-20230918

BroadwayWorld has learned that The Heart of Rock and Roll will open on Broadway this season, per a casting notice. The production is expected to start rehearsals in mid-February with opening planned for April.

Produced by Hunter Arnold and Tyler Mitchell, the production will be directed by Gordon Greenberg with choreography by Lorin Latarro and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Brian Usifer, who all worked on a previous production at The Old Globe in San Diego in 2018.

An electrifying world premiere musical comedy inspired by the songs of one of the most beloved and iconic acts in music history, Huey Lewis and the News. Mainstays on the Chicago dive bar circuit, Bobby and his band are hustling for their big break. But after their latest rejection, Bobby decides it's "Hip to Be Square," trades in his guitar, and starts "Workin' for a Livin'" in corporate America.

His boss, Cassandra, has struggles of her own, having sacrificed her personal life for the company. When they both get a shot at their dreams-for Bobby, another crack at rock stardom, and for Cassandra, a chance to become CEO-they must decide "If This Is It" for their careers, or if "The Power of Love" triumphs over all. The Heart of Rock & Roll celebrates the classic songs of Huey Lewisand the News in this heartwarming and hilarious new musical.

Updated On: 11/1/23 at 04:25 PM

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:34pm

If they're looking to go into a Shubert house, I'd see them taking the Longacre since that's been empty for a while with nothing lined up as far as I'm aware.

I'm still confident that A Beautiful Noise will close up shop after the holidays with this new schedule giving them a nice boost to get them there. Could Heart then take the Broadhurst for the spring?

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:37pm

I can't believe two shows in the same season are going to feature "The Power of Love"

 

Broadway is truly dying. 

[Voter]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:37pm

This is a huge surprise. And we'd have Power Of Love in two Broadway shows at the same time. Weird!

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:38pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I can't believe two shows in the same season are going to feature "The Power of Love"



Broadway is truly dying."

Still doesn’t beat when we had “I Say A Little Prayer” running simultaneously in “Promises Promises”, “Baby It’s You” and “Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert”

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:40pm

I'm still confident that A Beautiful Noise will close up shop after the holidays with this new schedule giving them a nice boost to get them there. Could Heart then take the Broadhurst for the spring?

That sounds about right. Boomers lose their MIND with both Neil Diamond and Huey Lewis, and since they have the money I think this will be popular with the (white) olds. 

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:41pm

Matt Doyle was the lead when this played San Diego in 2018, while Jonah Platt led an invitation-only presentation of the material last month. 

If this really does open in the spring, I wonder if Katie Rose Clarke will leave Merrily early for this, or if she'll be replaced as well.

Updated On: 9/18/23 at 04:41 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:41pm

I would also like to lovingly point out that The Old Globe hasn't had a great track record with new musicals coming to Broadway... see Almost Famous, Dancin, etc... I wish Destiny of Desire would transfer in this season over this instead

Updated On: 9/18/23 at 04:41 PM

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:47pm

Sutton Ross said: "That sounds about right. Boomers lose their MIND with both Neil Diamond and Huey Lewis, and since they have the money I think this will be popular with the (white) olds."

Hey I'm a (white) youngin' and I love Huey Lewis

I could also see this having an appeal with younger audiences who possess the 80's nostalgia that's still rampant -- although fading somewhat in recent years.

Updated On: 9/18/23 at 04:47 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:48pm

I couldn’t think of a musical I’d never want to sit through. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:50pm

Voter said: "This is a huge surprise. And we'd have Power Of Love in two Broadway shows at the same time. Weird!"

Let's not forget Broadway had three Cinderellas in the last two years.

[Voter]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:53pm

Rock and Roll Man found dead in a ditch

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 4:57pm

Hey -- I'm a (white) youngin' and love Huey Lewis 

I could also see this having an appeal with younger audiences who possess the 80's nostalgia that's still rampant -- although fading somewhat in recent years.

Me too! I Love them so much! I'm not shading anyone, I remember listening to the tapes as a really young kid in the 90s and loving them so much. I think it could work with all generations if the book works and the cast is great. I mentioned A Beautiful Noise because I believe older, white people have kept it open. 

IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 8:50pm

I wondered about Back to the Future with the Huey Lewis catalog instead of the original score. I might’ve enjoyed it more. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 9:29pm

Voter said: "I would also like to lovingly point out that The Old Globe hasn't had a great track record with new musicals coming to Broadway... see Almost Famous, Dancin, etc... I wish Destiny of Desire would transfer in this season over this instead"

Diana! 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/18/23 at 9:33pm

ggersten said: "Voter said: "I would also like to lovingly point out that The Old Globe hasn't had a great track record with new musicals coming to Broadway... see Almost Famous, Dancin, etc... I wish Destiny of Desire would transfer in this season over this instead"

Diana!"

Diana played La Jolla, not the Old Globe.

[Voter]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 10:01am

Someone on Reddit is swearing up and down that they know this is going into the James Earl Jones

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 6:54pm

Not a fan of juke box musicals even if I like the music of the artist. I enjoy Huey Lewis music because it is good time rock and roll but it does not mean I want to see a Broadway show with it. The book better be darned good otherwise this show could be very lame. Huey Lewis is not a mega star like Cher, Neil Diamond or Tina Turner where boomers will really come out in big numbers to see the show IMO. 

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 10:36pm

This has bomb written all over it.  Who has been clamoring for a Huey Lewis musical?  Did it even have any buzz when it played at the Old Globe?

[BroadwaysBroad]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 7:07am

Going into the Cort 🤫

[Voter]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 7:28am

BroadwaysBroad said: "Going into the Cort 🤫"

… so the James Earl Jones like I said above?

[RumTumJM]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 11:05am

Well, I'm certainly excited for this!

Let me explain! - HAHAHA!

20 some-odd years ago, I remember that jukebox musicals were all the rage. (I recall seeing All Shook Up, Good Vibrations, and perhaps a few others that escape me now.) Then, as a teenage theater nerd, I remember thinking to myself, "I'm should write my own jukebox musical!" And, a little while later...I kid you not...the idea hit me: I'll create one based upon the music of...HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS! (This is also when my obsession with classic rock/80s rock music was beginning.) Now, while I never really did much other than map-out a plot and determine how some songs would fit into it, I've never forgotten my short-lived experience creating my own Huey Lewis jukebox musical!

So, needless to say, I HAVE TO check this out & see "my decades old idea" become a reality!

I'd love to know what my teenage self would have thought, if he was told "It's actually gonna happen...20 years from now!" HAHAHA!

 

P.S. - I agree. This doesn't seem like something that will be running for long! - I'll likely be getting a ticket for early in it's run, to make sure that I catch a performance. 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 11:19am

One review from LA:

“The Heart of Rock & Roll” has a sitcom quality not unlike “Escape to Margaritaville.” The Huey Lewis and the News show doesn’t have the inebriated loucheness of that Jimmy Buffett vehicle. It’s more clean-cut in its sensibility, more earnestly ingenuous. It’s the kind of show that might have you saying, “Aw, shucks! This isn’t very good, but I like it anyway!”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/reviews/la-et-cm-heart-of-rock-and-roll-review-20180918-story.html

[Voter]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 5:02pm

Has anyone heard any updates on this?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:47pm

Voter said: "Has anyone heard any updates on this?"

Hopefully not.