Huey Lewis & the News musical coming to Broadway in March
The Heart of Rock and Roll, a new musical inspired by the music of Huey Lewis and The News, will open on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre in spring 2024. Previews for the production will begin March 29 and opening night is scheduled for April 22. Ticket prices range from $58 to $288.
The show has a book by Jonathan Abrams, music by Brian Usifer, choreography by Lorin Latarro, and is directed by Gordon Greenberg. The musical includes “The Heart of Rock and Roll,” “Hip to be Square,” “Power of Love,” “Do You Believe in Love?,” “If This Is It,” “Doing It All for My Baby,” “Stuck with You,” "I Want a New Drug,” “It’s Alright,” and “Heart and Soul.”
Set in 1987, THE HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL centers on a couple of twenty-somethings on the cusp of their futures-Bobby, a rock and roller who’s traded his guitar for the corporate ladder and his boss Cassandra who’s always put the family business first. When they both get a second shot at their dreams, it’ll take “The Power of Love” and a little help from their friends to figure out what kind of life they really want.
Although Huey Lewis and the News sold their catalog for $20 million in 2022, the musical has been in the works since before then. The original 2018 production at the Old Globe in San Diego starred Tony winner Matt Doyle (The Book of Mormon, Spring Awakening, Eric van der Woodsen's boyfriend) and Katie Rose Clarke (Wicked, Miss Saigon, The Light in the Piazza). The 2018 production won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and was planning to transfer to Broadway but was delayed due to COVID. The 2023 industry workshop starred Jonah Platt (brother of Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt and son of Broadway producer Marc Platt).
The Broadway production stars Corey Cott (Bandstand, Gigi, Newsies) and McKenzie Kurtz (Wicked, Frozen).
Other cast members include:
* Tony nominee John Dossett (Wicked, War Paint, Newsies, Pippin, The Constant Wife, Gypsy, Dinner At Eight, Ragtime)
* Josh Breckenridge (Come From Away, The Scottsboro Boys, The Ritz)
* F. Michael Haynie (Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Holler If Ya Hear Me)
* Zoe Jensen (Six, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton)
* Tamika Lawrence (Caroline, or Change, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Come From Away, Beautiful, If/Then, Matilda, The Book of Mormon)
* Raymond J. Lee (Sweeney Todd, Aladdin, Anything Goes, Groundhog Day, Honeymoon in Vegas, Mamma Mia!)
* John-Michael Lyles (A Strange Loop)
* Orville Mendoza (Pacific Overtures, Peter and the Starcatcher, Swept Away)
* Billy Harrigan Tighe (Pippin, The Book of Mormon)
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