Pop-rock hitmakers Huey Lewis and the News have Broadway in their sights: As Rolling Stone reports, The band’s music will anchor a brand new stage musical called Heart of Rock and Roll.
Huey Lewis announced the new jukebox musical project via a short video that also features an amusing cameo from late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel (whom he’s notably come in contact with before). In the clip, Kimmel confidently announces that he will be quitting his job to “star in the as Huey Lewis in a new musical.” As Lewis responds, the show was not about himself, but rather an original, fictional narrative based on his music, so Kimmel can’t play him.
“The power of love is a curious thing, Huey,” responds Kimmel in a nod to the band’s 1985 hit, “Makes one man weep – and that man’s gonna be me right now.” You can watch the video below:
[Video via Rolling Stone]
Heart of Rock and Roll will feature many of Huey Lewis and the News’ most well-known tracks, including “Hip to Be Square”, “If This Is It”, and “The Power of Love”. The show will be directed by Gordon Greenberg, with a book by Jonathan Abrams based on an original story he crafted in collaboration with Tyler Mitchell.
A synopsis of the new Huey Lewis and the News musical, Heart of Rock and Roll, has yet to be released. Huey Lewis has also not announced the release date or production schedule, so it’s safe to assume the project is in its early stages. However, the excitement has most definitely begun, and with so many ultra-catchy tunes and widely applicable themes in Huey Lewis and the News’ catalog, the possibilities for this project are wide open. After all, where does the mantra “It’s Hip To Be Square” ring truer than the theatre?
[H/T – Rolling Stone]
[Cover image screenshot via Rolling Stone]