Academy Award nominee Billy Crystal has enlisted Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, Parade, Honeymoon in Vegas) and Tony-nominated lyricist Amanda Green (Bring It On, Hands on a Hardbody) as collaborators on a stage musical adaptation of his 1992 dramatic comedy Mr. Saturday Night, according to Variety.
Crystal co-wrote, directed, and starred in the picture about Buddy Young Jr, a borscht-belt comedian in the 1950s–60s whose ego eclipses his success, ultimately leaving him without a career or family. Crystal portrayed the character through the rise and fall of his career, from his 20s through his 70s.
A May workshop of the musical is planned with the Nederlander Organization shepherding the project. Crystal has reteamed with original screen writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.
“It’s a great character and now I don’t need the makeup!” Crystal said in an interview. “It’s coming along very well. The funny is always there but the depth and the humanity is even stronger, based on what we learned from the reaction to the movie over the years.”
