who with his band The B次元官网网址 stormed radio in the 1980s with such rock-pop hits as B次元官网网址淭he Power of LoveB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淚 Want a New Drug,B次元官网网址� is about to take his music to a Broadway stage.
Lewis and executive producer Hunter Arnold tell The Associated Press that the jukebox musical B次元官网网址� constructed from LewisB次元官网网址� songs B次元官网网址� will play the James Earl Jones Theatre starting March 2024, capping more than 10 years of gestation.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a long road, but itB次元官网网址檚 very gratifying,B次元官网网址� Lewis said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 pinching myself because itB次元官网网址檚 really going to happen now.B次元官网网址�
The show, which has an original story unconnected to Lewis, broke the record for highest gross per performance at San DiegoB次元官网网址檚 Old Globe theater in 2018.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 smart, first of all, and funny. And it has a lot of heart and itB次元官网网址檚 about love, basically,B次元官网网址� Lewis said. B次元官网网址淧eople ask me, B次元官网网址橶hatB次元官网网址檚 it about, B次元官网网址漈he Heart of Rock & RollB次元官网网址�? And itB次元官网网址檚 actually about the power of love.B次元官网网址�
Lewis has tweaked some song lyrics to make them able to be sung by different people and in contexts he never initially anticipated. B次元官网网址淭he fun part of that is being able to hear these songs that we wrote tell a new story in a completely different way,B次元官网网址� he said.
Music supervisor and orchestrator Brian Usifer has reworked the tunes for a word-driven show, and the production will feature a book by Jonathan A. Abrams. Alongside Hunter as producers are Tyler Mitchell, who initially proposed a show based on the bandB次元官网网址檚 music, and Kayla Greenspan. Casting will be announced later.
The story centers on a blue-collar guy who used to be in a rock band in his 20s. He finds himself in his 30s prepared to take the leap to middle-class respectability when his bandmates return to take another stab at music. ThereB次元官网网址檚 also a love story when he falls for the bossB次元官网网址� daughter.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an everyman story,B次元官网网址� said Arnold. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really a story about what do we actually want in life, and how do we decide that for ourselves.B次元官网网址�
Huey Lewis & The B次元官网网址 had 12 top 10 Billboard hits on the Hot 100 and three that made No. 1. They won a Grammy Award, for best music video for B次元官网网址淭he Heart if Rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� Roll,B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Power of LoveB次元官网网址� was nominated for an Academy Award.
Most of the bandB次元官网网址檚 hits came from B次元官网网址淪portsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� their sophomore album B次元官网网址� released in 1983, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 160 weeks. It spun off such singles as B次元官网网址淗eart and Soul,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚 Want a New Drug,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚f This Is It,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淔inally Found a Home,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淲alking on a Thin LineB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Heart of Rock & Roll.B次元官网网址�
Lewis was an unlikely pop star, with earnest and sweet songs that verged on corny, delivered by a singer substantially older than his counterparts on the charts. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the weirdest thing because the man who defied the B次元官网网址�80s in many ways now also defines the B次元官网网址�80s,B次元官网网址� said Arnold.
B次元官网网址淚 think more than ever, people are looking for something that makes them feel hopeful, happy. Nostalgia is in because itB次元官网网址檚 a comfort food for us as audiences, but not something that is without a lesson underneath.B次元官网网址�
ThereB次元官网网址檚 irony that LewisB次元官网网址� music is already on Broadway B次元官网网址� in including the theme tune B次元官网网址淭he Power of LoveB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏ack in Time.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 more about timing. ItB次元官网网址檚 not about weB次元官网网址檙e the greatest songwriters who ever lived,B次元官网网址� said Lewis, laughing. He appeared on Broadway in B次元官网网址淐hicagoB次元官网网址� as Billy Flynn in the mid-2000s.
B次元官网网址淚 consider musical theater to be the most rewarding because itB次元官网网址檚 the most demanding of all artistic expression. You need to sing, dance and act. And itB次元官网网址檚 so collaborative that itB次元官网网址檚 not even enough to be good. You need to make everyone else good as well,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 wonderfully demanding and wonderfully rewarding, and weB次元官网网址檙e just happy to have a shot at it.B次元官网网址�
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