BJ working on new Broadway musical

Date: 18 Jun 2003 12:53:34 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.music.billy-joel
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B'WAY STATE OF MIND
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
June 18, 2003 -- BILLY Joel, whose hit parade has been put to splendid use in
"Movin' Out," is ready to try his hand at writing a Broadway musical from
scratch.
For his subject, he's following the old adage, "Write what you know."
In his case, it's the music business, from the 1970s to the 1990s.
The project is still in its early stages, but Joel has been discussing it in
detail with James Nederlander Jr., his close friend and the producer of "Movin'
Out."
Joel will draw on his own experiences to craft a story about a rock singer's
struggle to survive and prosper in the rough-and-tumble New York music scene,
though the show is not going to be strictly autobiographical.
Joel is casting about for a book writer and would do well to find someone who
shares his rather jaundiced view of the music business.
Whoever that turns out to be should read "Hit Men," Frederic Dannen's
compelling history of the music business in the '70s and '80s.
That book is a catalog of colorful, larger-than-life promoters and impresarios
who could easily be used as models for characters - Clive Davis, Walter
Yentikoff, Dick Asher, David Geffen, plus an array of lesser-known Billboard
Max Bialystocks.
Mobsters, payola, drugs, sex - there's plenty of material here for a tough,
dramatic musical.
BEING the opening act on the Tony telecast seems to be almost as valuable as
winning the award for Best Musical.
"Movin' Out" - which kicked off the telecast - sold $350,000 worth of tickets
the day after the show.
And in the past week, the show has posted average daily wraps of $250,000.
"Hairspray," which won the award for Best Musical, took in $550,000 and
continues to rack up daily ticket sales of between $400,000 and $500,000.
All of which is making the Nederlander family very happy, since they are the
producers of "Movin' Out," are big investors in "Hairspray" and own the
theaters in which both shows are playing.
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/1216.htm