Could Jimmy Fallon be making his Broadway debut? If Cameron Crowe has his way (and why wouldn't he?), the answer might be yes.
Fallon, a Saturday Night Live alum and current host of The Tonight Show, made his film debut as new band manager Dennis Hope in the 2000 film Almost Famous, written and directed by Crowe. A musical adaptation of the film opens on Broadway November 3, and when Crowe and the cast stopped by The Tonight Show on November 1, Fallon asked Crowe, "Is my character still in the play?"
"I'm really glad you bring this up," said Crowe. He goes on to say it has always been his dream that Fallon, "as the manager of the future," could be the link between the film cast and the Broadway cast. "So, I would like you to come on the Broadway stage and play your part of Dennis Hope."
"I am in!" says an ecstatic Fallon. Check out the clip above.
Almost Famous has a book by Crowe, music by Tony winner Tom Kitt, and lyrics by Crowe and Kitt. Casey Likes, in his Broadway debut, leads the cast as William Miller, the role based on a teenage Crowe in his semi-autobiographical story of touring with an up-and-coming rock band as a journalist for Rolling Stone. Solea Pfeiffer also makes her debut as Penny Lane, the role that garnered a young Kate Hudson an Oscar nomination.
The cast performed "Tiny Dancer,"—a popular scene in the original film—for The Tonight Show appearance. See the video below.
Tony nominee Jeremy Herrin directs the cast, which also features Chris Wood, Tony nominee Anika Larsen, Drew Gehling, and Rob Colletti. The company includes Matt Bittner, Chad Burris, Gerard Canonico, Julia Cassandra, Brandon Contreras, Jakeim Hart, Van Hughes, Jana Djenne Jackson, Katie Ladner, Danny Lindgren, Erica Mansfield, Alisa Melendez, Kevin Perdido, Andrew Poston, Emily Schultheis, Daniel Sovich, Libby Winters, and Matthew C. Yee.