Rocky Balboa on Broadway?
Plans are afoot to bring Philly’s Italian Stallion to the stage…as a musical
Somebody round up the old gang – Paulie, Adrian, Mick, Apollo Creed. Rocky needs you for another comeback. Not in the ring this time. And by the way, can you sing?
The saga of a punchy boxer from Philly is being adapted as a Broadway musical, spearheaded by a Tony Award winning team.
The idea of turning the 1976 Oscar-winner Rocky into a play was first explored eight years ago when Sylvester Stallone (Yo, Rock!) approached highly regarded stage writer Thomas Meehan.
Now the project is gaining momentum. A read through in New York went so well in April, that the producers are now aiming to open the musical in Germany in the fall of 2012, with the hope of bringing it to Broadway the following year.
Casting tip: Maybe David Hasselhoff as Rocky? The Hoff can sing and he's huge in Germany. Who would you cast as the humble heavyweight?
Meehan told a New York Times blogger, "At first I thought, all the world needs is a Rocky musical. But then I looked at the film. I thought it had beautiful construction and such high emotion, and it was a natural musical: There is a David and Goliath story, a Cinderella story, a love story between two outcasts. It's less about boxing than about finding self-respect and finding your soul mate."
And don't forget the parts about pounding a side of beef and running up the Art Museum steps.
Just do us a favor: please don't reprise "Eye of the Tiger" as one of the songs.
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