Sheryl Crow and Barry Levinson to Make Broadway Debuts with New Musical DINER in Fall 2012; Marshall to Direct

Base Entertainment (Co-CEO's Scott Zeiger and Brian Becker) announced that DINER, a new musical inspired by the critically acclaimed 1982 film, will come to Broadway in the fall of 2012. With a book by Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Barry Levinson and music & lyrics by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, DINER will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. DINER marks the Broadway debut of both Barry Levinson and Sheryl Crow. Prior to its Broadway bow, DINER will play a limited out of town engagement in a city TBD in the summer of 2012. Design team and casting will be announced at a later date.

"Diner was a pivotal moment in my career, and since then I have continued to live with the characters, realizing there is much more to their story," said Barry Levinson. "I'm excited to be embarking on this stage version, which affords me the opportunity as a storyteller to expand on my original vision and let the characters express their innermost feeling and thoughts through song."

"I was already a huge fan of Diner when Barry first approached me about writing a score for a theatrical re-telling of his film. I knew exactly who these men and women were and I feverishly began writing," said Sheryl Crow, "Writing the score for DINER has been the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my career. I have always been a devotee and student of musical theatre, and I am very excited to be making this journey with Barry and Kathleen."

"I am absolutely thrilled to be working on Diner with one of my favorite filmmakers and one of my favorite recording artists." Said Kathleen Marshall, "Barry Levinson is a legendary writer, director and producer, and in his book for the musical of DINER, he has enriched and deepened those characters we know and love so well from his celebrated screenplay. Sheryl Crow is a brilliant singer, songwriter and performer, and her score for DINER is original, theatrical and completely thrilling. I can't wait to bring the work of these two great artists to Broadway!"

"When I first read Barry's theatrical script for DINER, I was amazed at how he captured the poignancy of these characters' journey from young adulthood to true responsibilities with consequences, in a way that is perfect for the theatre and timeless in every way. With the addition of Sheryl's dynamic score and her intuitive knowledge of Barry's characters, I knew the project was off to a great start," said producer Scott Zeiger. "By putting DINER in the hands of Kathleen Marshall, we truly have assembled an amazing team."

It's Christmas 1959 in Baltimore and six high school buddies, now in their twenties, reunite as the second member of the group is about to tie the knot. Trying to deal with their new responsibilities, the group has awkwardly stumbled into adulthood and the only place they can make sense of their new lives is at their old hangout, The Fells Point Diner.

Released in 1982, DINER was Barry Levinson's screen directing debut, and he received an Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay. The bittersweet comedy starred Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke and Daniel Stern.

BIOS

BARRY LEVINSON (Book) is an Academy Award-winning director, screenwriter, producer and actor who has crafted an enviable reputation in the film industry as a filmmaker who blends literate and intelligent visions into films. Levinson was awarded the 1988 Best Director Oscar for the multiple Academy Award winning Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. In 1987, Levinson directed Robin Williams in the comedy Good Morning Vietnam, which went on to become one of the year's most acclaimed and popular movies. 1991 saw the release of Bugsy, which was directed and produced by Levinson, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Levinson has used his hometown as the setting for four widely praised features that include his directorial debut Diner, as well as Tin Men, Avalon and Liberty Heights. His career began as a writer on television for shows including "The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine," "The Tim Conway Show," and "The Carol Burnett Show" for which he won two Emmy Awards. As a screenwriter, Levinson has received three Academy Award nominations, for ...And Justice for All, Diner, and Avalon. Levinson's additional directorial credits include The Natural, Young Sherlock Holmes, Toys, Jimmy Hollywood, Disclosure, Sleepers, Sphere, Wag the Dog, An Everlasting Piece, Bandits and You don't know Jack. Barry later returned to Baltimore to film the television series "Homicide: Life on the Street." His work on this critically acclaimed drama earned him an Emmy for Best Individual Director of a Drama Series. Levinson produces films through his Production Company Baltimore Pictures, Inc. Such critically acclaimed releases include Quiz Show, Donnie Brasco, Analyze This, and The Second Civil War (HBO). In 2003, he published his first novel, "Sixty-Six."

Sheryl Crow (Music & Lyrics) has garnered nine Grammys, performed duets with musical luminaries such as Sting and Mick Jagger, released seven studio albums which sold more than 35 million records worldwide, is a cancer survivor, and saw the launch of her very own clothing line Bootheel Trading Co. Crow's career began as a jingle and back-up singer, and she burst on to the music scene in 1993 with her debut album, the seven times platinum Tuesday Night Music Club, which earned three Grammys (Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). The album featured "All I Wanna Do," "Strong Enough," "Can't Cry Anymore," and "Leaving Las Vegas." 1996's triple platinum Sheryl Crow earned Grammys for Best Rock Album and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and 1998's platinum The Globe Sessions also garnered the Best Rock Album Grammy. In 2002 Crow again nabbed the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy for "Steve McQueen" from her platinum album C'mon C'mon. 2003 saw the release of Crow's greatest hits compilation, the four times platinum The Very Best of Sheryl Crow, followed by 2005's platinum Wildflower. 2008 saw the release of Detours, and in 2010 she released her seventh studio album, 100 Miles From Memphis. Crow is a passionate supporter of a variety of environmental and health-related charities, including The NRDC, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The World Food Program. This year saw the opening of the Sheryl Crow Imaging Center in the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Los Angeles.

Kathleen Marshall (Director & Choreographer) just won her third Tony Award for choreographing the Roundabout Theatre's Anything Goes, which she also directed. Other Broadway credits include The Pajama Game for which she won her second choreography Tony Award, Wonderful Town for which she won her first Tony Award, Grease, Boeing-Boeing, Little Shop of Horrors, Follies, Seussical, Kiss Me, Kate, 1776 and Swinging on a Star. Her Off-Broadway credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona (New York Shakespeare Festival), Saturday Night (Second Stage), Violet (Playwrights Horizons), and As Thousands Cheer (Drama Dept). For City Center Encores! she directed and choreographed Bells Are Ringing, Applause, Carnival, Hair and Babes in Arms, among others, and she served as Artistic Director for four seasons. Her television credits include ABC/Disney's "Once Upon a Mattress" and Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" (Emmy nomination). She has received three Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Astaire Award, the George Abbott Award, the Richard Rodgers Award and the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for the Arts. Ms. Marshall is the Vice President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and is an Associate Artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Base Entertainment (Producer) develops, produces and manages intellectual properties generated for live entertainment stages across the globe. BASE's current production activity includes: Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, Jersey Boys at the Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino, Peepshow starring Holly Madison at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Absinthe at Caesars Palace, and Defending the Caveman at Harrah's, all in Las Vegas, as well as The Lion King at the new Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Previous production activity includes Wayne Brady: Making It Up and Stomp Out Loud in Las Vegas, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me on Broadway, and Cirque du Soleil's holiday show Wintuk, New York City. In addition, BASE operates the Showroom and The Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and programs both the Grand Theater and Sands Theater at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Base Entertainment's founders include industry veterans Brian Becker & Scott Zeiger.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

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