Diner has a book by the movie’s Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Barry Levinson and an original score by nine-time Grammy Award winner Crow.
First announced for a 2012 Broadway arrival, Diner was postponed several times while the creative team continued to work on the show. It had its world premiere in 2014 at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. The creative team remains hopeful that the production will ultimately make its way to New York, though no official plans have been announced. Warner Bros. Theatrical Ventures is overseeing the project.
"It's not like making a record and you make the record, the record's done, you do a little artwork, you do a little press, you go out on the road… The sequence is very logical," Crow recently told Playbill.com. "That doesn't exist in the theatrical world. We did end up going out of town and honing the play... It's really hard to know what to expect. You're constantly going on the hope that you're going to get all the way to Broadway."
"It's Been an Extreme Learning Curve," Says Sheryl Crow About the Long Road to Diner's Stage Bow
The musical is directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall, who also helmed the 2014 Signature premiere. The latest incarnation of Diner opened Dec. 12 after previews that began Dec. 2.
"Diner" launched Levinson's film directing career. It was his screen directing debut. He received an Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay and later won the Oscar for his direction of "Rain Man." The period comedy starred Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke and Daniel Stern.
Here's how it's billed: "Set in Baltimore during 1959, Diner follows a circle of childhood friends who confront the realities of adulthood in the one place they know they will always be welcome: the all-night diner."
Check out footage of the 2014 Signature premiere below.
Crow has sold more than 35 million records worldwide including the singles "Soak Up the Sun," "First Cut is the Deepest," "If It Makes You Happy," "Every Day Is A Winding Road," "All I Wanna Do," "Strong Enough," "Leaving Las Vegas" and "“Steve McQueen."
Levinson's films include "Rain Man," "Good Morning Vietnam," "Bugsy," "Tin Men," "The Natural," "Young Sherlock Holmes," "Toys," "Disclosure," "Sleepers," "Wag the Dog" and "Avalon."
Read reviews for the production here.
The cast features Derek Klena (Wicked, Dogfight) as Boogie, Matthew James Thomas (Pippin) as Fenwick, Noah Weisberg (South Pacific) as Shrevie, Ari Brand (My Name Is Asher Lev) as Eddie, Aaron Finley (It Shoulda Been You) as Billy and Ethan Slater (Claudio Quest) as Modell.
Completing the cast are Jacqueline Beatrice Arnold, John E. Brady, Matt Dengler, Joshua Franklin, Nate Golden, Erika Henningsen, Anne Horak, John Leone, Brynn O'Malley, Stephanie Martignetti, Jenna Pastuszek, Jonathan Shew, Tess Soltau, Rachel Stern and Curtis Wiley.
The production has music supervision by Lon Hoyt, music direction by Seth Farber and orchestrations by Mitchell Froom.
The production team includes Rommy Sandhu (assistant director), Jessica Simkins (stage manager), Derek McLane (original scenic designer), James Kronzer (scenic design adaptation), Paul Tazewell (original costume designer), Amanda Seymour (costume design adaptation), Peter Kaczorowski (original lighting designer), Gina Scherr (lighting design adaptation), Leon Rothenberg (sound designer), Danny Erdberg (assistant sound designer), Chuck LaPointe (original wig design), Leah Loukas (wig design adaptation) and Avista Custom Theatricals (props).
DTC recently staged the Broadway-aimed musical Because of Winn-Dixie, featuring music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and a book by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde, Mean Girls).
