Broadway Brings Back Cameron Crowe’s ‘Almost Famous’ As A Musical: Everything You Need To Know

The musical ‘Almost Famous’ made its Broadway debut on 3 November 2022. It first premiered in 2019 in San Diego. Based on a 2000 film of the same name, the production received mixed reviews but overall the beloved storyline was thoroughly enjoyed.

The show was given its lyrics by Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt, the latter also providing music to the show. The story of the musical revolves around a teenage journalist writing for a magazine, Rolling Stones, and aspiring to get his first piece published and ultimately gain fame.

‘Almost Famous’: The 2000 Film

The 2000 film has autobiographical elements from the director Cameron Crowe’s life who also wrote for the Rolling Stones magazine. The director wrote and even produced the movie which ranks as one of America’s classics. The movie follows the struggle of a child prodigy, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), to fit in among his peers.

A fifteen-year-old William finds the rock music stash of his elder sister and decides to become a rock music journalist. William, raised by a mother strictly against rock music, gets recruited by the magazine Rolling Stones. The audience enjoys the comedy-drama as William gets torn between the thrill and jollies of the music world and the callings of his mother.

The movie won two Golden Globes, one Academy Award, and one Grammy. Film critic, Robert Ebert, called it the best film of the year. The Time applauded the movie saying, “giving each character his reasons, making everyone in the emotional debate charming and compelling, creating fictional people who breathe in a story with an organic life.”

Debut Of The Broadway Musical

With the musical’s release, the comparison between the film and the current production was predictable. On a feature of The Washington Post the show was called “no less good” but the superiority of the film remains. Casey Likes who plays William on stage has done fairly well in recreating the character of William after twenty-two years.

CBS news posted the details of an interview with Cameron where he revealed intimate details of the story. “If you’re going to tell the story correctly, it’s a personal story, you have to get personal,” said the journalist turned director.

Crowe opened up about his relationship with his mother during his Rolling Stones days. The director said that his mother believed that rock music would rot his brain cells. For educational enrichment, Alice Crowe, his mother, took him to watch Shakespeare plays. She took him to Old Globe Theatre where years later the musical first premiered. According to Cameron, his mother supported his career as a director but wanted to see the movie as a musical. And twenty-two years later the dream of a family came true though on the night of the first show, Alice Crowe passed away.