It’s All Happening in the Almost Famous Musical on Broadway
The post It’s All Happening in the Almost Famous Musical on Broadway appeared first on Consequence.
One of the finest moments of Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical coming of age classic Almost Famous arrives in the film’s iconic “Tiny Dancer” scene: At one of the most tense points in the narrative, the fictional band Stillwater (and their “band-aids”) launch into an impromptu performance of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” on their tour bus. Protagonist William Miller turns to Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane and reminds her, “I have to go home,” to which she replies, “You are home.”
It’s a simple, yet profound moment for William — a reminder that even in the fleeting chaos of responsibilities and growing up, he has arrived to where he needs to be, and the unity and passion for music that surrounds him is, indeed, home.
For a film that is bursting at the seams with passion, it’s more than appropriate to mount a Broadway adaptation of it — after all, Broadway and the theater community is meant to share the same “it takes a village” spirit that a touring band may boast, and the energy transmitted from a fine Broadway show is enough to rattle emotions and bring people together. And after a successful trial of the musical at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater back in 2019 and three years of pandemic-related delays, Almost Famous finally opens at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater on Broadway on November 4th (get tickets here).
Needless to say, it’s a long time coming for the majority of the cast and crew — many of whom are making their Broadway debuts and have been attached to the production since 2019. One such cast member is Casey Likes, who has the distinct honor of playing William Miller. “I was 17 when I first joined the cast three years ago, and I was very new to the greater landscape of this Broadway world,” he tells Consequence. “We were supposed to make this pretty fast and go right into Broadway the next year. And then obviously, the pandemic happened… so it definitely means quite a bit knowing that we went through all that to get here.”
Of course, Likes has some big shoes to fill in Almost Famous; not only is William the wide-eyed protagonist through which we experience the story, he’s based off of Cameron Crowe himself, who found himself covering bands like the fictional Stillwater for Rolling Stone in his teens. Luckily, over the past three years, Likes has formed a close connection with Crowe. “He’s one of my best friends,” says Likes, “I’ve spent more time with Cameron than I’ve spent with anyone in the cast, or crew, or team… I’ve gotten to know Cameron from age 17 to age 20, which is amazing.”
10 Almost Famous Quotes You Probably Say All the Time
Likes is one of 15 cast members who are making their Broadway debut in Almost Famous, a number higher than most new productions these days. “I’m proud to say we’ve got 15 actors who are making their full debuts… and that just has so much energy within itself,” says director Jeremy Herrin. “We’ve got a large company of actors with great voices, we’ve got an orchestra of virtuosos. So we can express that joy through virtuosity, through skill, through connectivity, and there’s nothing more expressive in terms of emotion as music.”
This is a big theme of Almost Famous that translates beautifully to the stage: connectivity. What’s so special about the story is not just seeing the passion that William has for music — it’s William having that passion be validated by the people around him, about the transformative power of music, how it can give us purpose and tell us “we are home.”
Tom Kitt, who composed the music and lyrics for the musical and is a Pulitzer winner for Next to Normal, found this idea crucial when creating the show’s musical language. “Most people, I would bet, have a moment where a piece of music transforms them in some way, and they were never the same,” he says. “I think if we can capture the feeling where someone in real time connects to a piece of music and they see the world differently and are now in search of something… that’s a great feeling that we would love to harness.”
The rest of the cast feels the same, and they all praise the show’s devotion to sharing and loving music. Chris Wood, who plays Stillwater guitarist Russell Hammond, believes that enthusiasm is essential for starring in this musical. “There are scientific studies of Parkinson’s, people who have had strokes, or people struggling with mental health issues that show that music can literally heal,” Wood tells Consequence. “It bridges languages, it bridges culture gaps, it bridges different religious and societal beliefs… it’s miraculous.”
As Russell Hammond, Wood frequently has a guitar around his shoulders, and he’s physically playing it for a great deal of the show: “None of it is dubbed,” he says, “It’s all live and terrifying!” But Wood’s overall relationship to music is even deeper; in addition to being an actor, he’s a songwriter through and through, naming James Taylor as his primary inspiration. It’s fitting that Wood names James Taylor as a musical hero, because the new Almost Famous adaptation features a more expansive approach to its ’70s references than the original movie.
Where Almost Famous originally referenced rock music of the period first and foremost, the musical digs into the folk stylings of Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in a much more comprehensive way. There’s a more considerate effort from the show’s creative team to bring intimacy to the story with songs that reference these artists — this is perhaps best exemplified in Act 2 when Penny Lane, played by Solea Pfeiffer, sings a heartfelt and devastating rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” These are the kind of introspective moments that we never get to see in the original film, and it’s not the only change that the team has brought in.
Almost Famous, photo by Krista Schlueter
Cameron Crowe, who wrote the book for the musical adaptation, kept a great deal of his original dialogue, assuring that the most hilarious and iconic lines from the film made its way into the production. But he decided that this time around, there were different elements to revamp — particularly the character of Penny Lane. “She’s not a manic pixie dream girl,” Crowe tells Consequence. “She’s based on a real person who was true to her word in the day. She never wrote a tell-all book, she never deviated from the path of somebody that just loved music. She’s kind of a beacon through the years for me, so I wanted to give her a little bit more.”
Crowe is also excited about bringing Lester Bangs in full force to the stage production. “I feel like we’re taking a little bit of Lester and putting him in front of audiences that might never have read him or known of him otherwise,” says Crowe. “And if somebody goes and checks out the writing of Lester Bangs as a result of seeing this show, I can walk away happy.” Rob Colletti, who plays Lester Bangs in the production, brings his booming voice and enthusiastic conviction to the character on stage. But Colletti’s task is even more tricky, considering the original role was perfectly executed by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
“Obviously, I felt that pressure,” Colletti says, “But Cameron made himself so available from the outset of the entire process to me, saying ‘I want you to feel comfortable, there’s no pressure for you to fulfill something, we want you to create this based around you.'” Colletti goes on to praise Lester Bang’s more omniscient presence in the musical: “We wanted to create Lester in this story as not just the sense of conscience, but as the spiritual guide. He’s like a specter in the wings being the voice of reason for William as he’s going through all of these various barricades that come up in his journey.”
Though the musical’s source material is already iconic, it should be noted that Almost Famous is tailor-made for audience members that are already a fan of the movie — this writer included. It’s difficult to imagine how people with no preconceived ideas about Almost Famous will respond to the musical; of course, the music in the show is wildly expressive and can cut straight to the heart, but the overall story may not be as poignant to every audience member. Adaptations are always risky in that regard, but luckily, Almost Famous is about a universal connection that anyone can foster with any medium of art.
No one knows this better than Crowe. “If a man from the future had come up to me and said that this little movie about loving music and your family — that you snuck through the system because Jerry Maguire did well — that’s gonna be the thing that people want to talk to you about, they don’t remember Jerry Maguire, they want to talk about Almost Famous and it’ll go to Broadway… I would’ve said, ‘You’re on acid, but you’re entertaining.'”
Working on the adaptation of his original screenplay nearly 20 years later has allowed Crowe to really reflect on the period of his life that Almost Famous depicts. “You know, Gregg Allman taking my tapes and me thinking I was gonna get fired on my first big story for Rolling Stone… that was the end of the ‘magic boots,'” he says. “Life is not always going to be a great aphorism from your mom. There’s going to be a guy who’s high, who decides you’re a cop, who takes your tapes from you and gets you fired by Ben Fong-Torres — that’s your dream, pal. But then my sister found me in the airport and helped me back home… that felt like a fantasy that was actually real, which life can be sometimes in a long-winded way.”
He ends our conversation with a profound bit of wisdom that lies at the heart of Almost Famous: “If your dream dies today, trust the next day.”
It’s an apt message to share on one of the world’s biggest stages, and the musical is definitely a convincing portrait of art, passion, and finding where you belong. And when you find it, they simply ask that you take a look around and say, “It’s all happening.”
Editor’s Note: The Almost Famous Broadway production runs through April 2023; get tickets here.
It’s All Happening in the Almost Famous Musical on Broadway
Paolo Ragusa
Popular Posts
Kid's Impressive Street Performance of "Master of Puppets" Earns Props from Metallica: Watch
James Corden Banned from New York Restaurant for "Extremely Nasty" Behavior
Anti-Woke Superhero Movie Falls Apart After Super-Theft of Funding
Andy Dick Arrested for Felony Burglary After Allegedly Stealing Power Tools
Elon Musk Thinks Grimes Might Be a Simulation That "Exists in His Cerebral Cortex"
