We’re Getting the Band Back Together . . . and opening on Broadway!

I don’t remember exactly where I was.  Or when it happened.

But I came up with an idea.  I even scratched it out on a piece of paper (that I still have).  It read something like this . . .

A 40-year-old investment banker loses his job and has to move back in with his mom, in New Jersey. And on his first day back home he runs into his best friend, who he hasn’t seen in 20 years who says, “Dude, you’re back in town?  You know what we should do?  We should get the band back together!”

That’s where it started.  With just that little scrap of paper.

And now, that little scrap of paper has grown up into a big ol’ musical comedy that will open on Broadway on August 13, 2018!

That’s right, my friends, Gettin’ The Band Back Together starts performances on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on July 19, 2018 and will open a month later!

So how did we get here?

Well, right after I scrawled that idea in my notebook, I knew that to get it all the way to where I one day dreamed it would be, I needed some help. Theater is a collaborative art form and anyone who thinks they can do it by themselves is destined for the wall at Joe Allen.  (If you don’t get that reference . . . that’s a good thing . . . you don’t want to.)

So I did what I’ve done several times in my life and career (including with my first show and my most recent web series) and called the funniest and most creative people I knew and got them in a room (I always say a Producer’s main job is to get people in a room!).

And in that room, at Ripley Grier Studios, over the course of six months, we improvised the show to life.

My creative crew wrote character bibles, improvised back stories, future stories and side stories, imagined conflict and triumph . . . as I took copious notes.  It was one of the most enjoyable processes of my career. When it was done, I locked myself into a room of my own, and emerged a few months later with a brand new original script for a brand new original musical, authored by me and The Grundleshotz (the name of the coalition of actors who helped create what you’ll see on stage next summer).

The only problem was . . . we didn’t have any music.

A year later, after a search through all of the many submissions we get from emerging writers, I discovered Jonathan Larson Award-Winner Mark Allen, who spec-ed a couple of tunes for me.  Within fifteen seconds of hearing his first song, I knew he was the guy to write the score for our 40-year-old characters, who dreamed about ditchin’ their day jobs for a second shot at the rock-star life.  (Side note:  both of his spec-ed tunes are still in the show to this day.)

And you know that old expression if you build it, they will come?  Well, right after our first reading, Tony Award winning Director John Rando, who is responsible for Urinetown, one of the funniest shows of the last couple decades, signed up.

That’s when things got exciting.  We did an out-of-town tryout at George Street Playhouse, were blessed with some terrific reviews (including one from the NY Times!) and . . . after waiting in a long queue for a Broadway house, I got the call.

And so, this underdog of a show, about a group of underdogs, is going to Broadway!

I couldn’t be more excited, and I couldn’t be more thankful to the Shuberts for seeing in this show what the audiences at George Street saw and what I saw in that little piece of paper . . .

What’s really cool, and so rare these days on Broadway, is that I’m able to announce the show a year before it’ll happen.  Which means you’ll get to come along for this crazy ride.  Because the journey has just begun.

And I’m going to take you along with me.  So stay tuned to this station, because . . .

And hey!  Do you want a FREE cast recording?  We’re offering it to everyone for free on the website right now. Just click here and get it!

Oh, and single tickets will be announced for sale shortly . . . but groups of 10 or more can buy RIGHT NOW when you click here.

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Interested in how a show gets to Broadway? Register for a FREE upcoming session of my online workshop “The Road to Broadway” and learn about the 5 steps on the road to Broadway! To secure your spot in an upcoming FREE session, click here.