According to The Wall Street Journal, comedian Jerry Lewis revealed on Friday night during celebrations for his 86th birthday, that THE NUTTY PROFESSOR will hit Broadway this fall, with a planned opening of November 15th.
The production, which had originally aimed for the 2010/11 season will star entertainer Michael Andrew. Lewis first revealed the production and introduced Andrew back in 2006 while hosting the MDA telethon, video of which apepars below.
Lewis also revealed that joining the production team would be choreographer Kathleen Marshall.
A press release about the then 2010/11 production noted that legendary actor, director, writer and producer Jerry Lewis will make his theatrical directorial debut on Broadway with the new musical, "THE NUTTY PROFESSOR", based on the 1963 film that he starred in and co-wrote. The show will feature music by Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch and a book and lyrics by multiple Tony Award winner and Grammy Nominee Rupert Holmes.
Recognized as one of The American Film Institute's best comedies in their "100 Years...100 Laughs", "THE NUTTY PROFESSOR", written by Jerry Lewis & Bill Richmond, was released by Paramount Pictures in 1963 and just recently crossed the 800 Million Dollar mark in world-wide grosses. The film also starred Lewis in what went on to be one of his most famous roles and successful films. Since its release, there have been countless tributes and homage to the film and Lewis' performance, not only in the US, but in Europe, Asia, Australia and across the globe. "I was born with show business in my blood and working on Broadway gets it coursing through my veins like no other place can. Marvin and Rupert have given one of my favorite and most enduring films "THE NUTTY PROFESSOR" a hilarious and gorgeous adaptation for Broadway and I could not be happier. Does this story sing and dance? You bet it does," says Jerry Lewis.
Professor Julius Kelp is a dull geek with a bright idea. Privately experimenting in his laboratory to find the cure for his social failures, he creates a potion that transforms him into a smooth talking, party animal named Buddy Love. Buddy is everything that Julius always dreamed of being and gets the girl that he always dreamed of dating, Stella. The only problem is that the potion doesn't last very long. Will the school find out his secret and will Stella stick around even after Love has left the building?
Marvin Hamlisch states, "Music is truly an international language and it has the ability to bring people together like nothing else...except comedy. It's a thrill to be working with Jerry Lewis, a true king of comedy, and bringing this classic story to life on Broadway with music.""Jerry Lewis has been my hero from boyhood, not only as one of the most gifted entertainers of all time but also as one of the grand masters of movie-making. To work with Jerry and the vivid cast of characters he created is a privilege and thrill beyond measure," says Rupert Holmes.
Marvin Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists for composers. He has written the score for the Broadway musicals They're Playing Our Song, Sweet Smell of Success, The Goodbye Girl, Smile and A Chorus Line, for which he shares The Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Hamlisch also wrote the score for the Broadway play with music Imaginary Friends. He is the composer of more than 40 film scores including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were, his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music for The Sting , and the Steven Soderbergh-Matt Damon film The Informant.Multi Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes has worn many hats on Broadway including book writer, composer, lyricist and orchestrator. His Broadway credits include Curtains (Tony Award Nominations for Book and Lyrics, New York Drama Desk Award Best Book), the Tony Award winning musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony Awards for Book, Music and Lyrics), Say Goodnight Gracie (National Broadway Theatre Award, Best Play; Tony nom., Best Play) and more. For television, Holmes created and wrote the Emmy award-winning series "Remember WENN" and the mystery novels for Random House Where the Truth Lies (Booklist Top Ten Debut Crime Novel; Best American Mystery Novel 2004, Nero Wolfe nom.), Swing (San Francisco Chronicle Top Ten Fiction). His pop songs have been recorded by everyone from Barbra Streisand to Britney Spears, he's penned Billboard Top Ten hits for himself and others, and contributed to the Golden Globe-winning score of A Star is Born.
Jerry Lewis is no stranger to Broadway, appearing and touring the US & UK in Damn Yankees! in 1995 and Jerry Lewis at The Palace in 1953, however, "THE NUTTY PROFESSOR" marks Lewis' Broadway debut as director. His countless film credits as performer, director, writer, producer, and sometimes as all four, include The Bell Boy, The Ladies Man, It's Only Money, The Delicate Delinquent, Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy and many morE. Lewis is also an acclaimed author having written three best sellers: The Total Filmmaker, a oft-used guide for directors; and the memoirs Jerry Lewis: In Person and the recently released Dean & Me: A Love Story. His humanitarian efforts for The Muscular Dystrophy Association for over half a century have won him countless accolades, including a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and his annual Telethons, which have grossed over 2 Billion Dollars, have provided a high point for Broadway shows who are given the opportunity to perform for a national audience- and, "Jerry's Kids," MD afflicted children all over this country. Mr. Lewis received an Oscar in 2009 with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, awarded by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
