First there was Elton John, then, regrettably, Bono and The Edge. Who's the next pop music superstar to dabble into showtunes? Sheryl Crow!
Sadly, she's not writing the songs for Leaving Las Vegas: The Musical (based on the Nicholas Cage/Elizabeth Shue film, naturally), but rather another movie-to-musical adaptation: Diner, the 1982 Barry Levinson-directed comedy about a group of friends coming-of-age in 1950s Baltimore. Levinson is on board to write the musical's book, and Kathleen Marshall, who won a Tony this year for her choreography of Anything Goes, will direct and choreograph the Diner musical. The production team is planning a Broadway mount following an out-of-town tryout next summer.
Crow, who is tasked with writing the music and lyrics, does not think her breezy L.A.-based tunes will keep her from writing songs about folks in Baltimore:
“I was already a huge fan of ‘Diner’ when Barry first approached me about writing a score for a theatrical retelling of his film. I knew exactly who these men and women were and I feverishly began writing.”
Here's to more incongruous pop star-penned musical adaptations, like Sarah McLachlan's Garden State! Or Paul McCartney's The Help! How about Garth Brooks's Moonstruck?!
