Sylvester Stallone, as Rocky Balboa, punches Carl Weathers, as Apollo Creed, during a boxing match in a still from the film, 'Rocky,' directed by John G Avildson.
Lovers of the 1980s (and late ’70s), rejoice. It looks like Rocky: The Musical is on track to becoming a reality. “Ohhhh, tough Dolph Lundgren/ Gonna make him stunned then/ ‘Cause I won’t be rotund then/ When we meet at the aaarrreeeeeeeeenaaaa!”
The New York Times reports that a Tony-winning songwriting duo, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty—who should be aware that the above lyrics are property of NewsFeed—have teamed with book writer Thomas Meehan to turn the 1976 Best-Picture film into a musical tale of triumph and love. The schedule is currently set for the show to open in Germany in fall 2012 and then, hopefully, be on Broadway by spring of 2013.
(PHOTOS: Sylvester Stallone Through the Years)
Sylvester Stallone is acting as a producer, and was also the man who got the musical ball rolling eight years ago when he called Meehan with the idea, according to the New York Times.
“It’s been a long gestation period, but it’s come to be a work that we’re really proud of. There was some worry early on — could we really make a musical out of a boxing picture? Could you make Rocky sing and dance? But when we did the reading, people were very impressed, and we’re going forward.”
The story will closely follow the first movie, Meehan also told the NYT, and it will be a small-cast, small-orchestra production. But as long as there’s sufficient stair-running involved, the crowds should be satisfied.
(LIST: Top 10 Badass Geezers)