Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tommy Mottola Bringing Robert DeNiro to Broadway– As a Musical Director!

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This item originally ran on February 19th.

Oscar voting has closed, so I can say this: Robert DeNiro can do anything. And so now, the nominee for “Silver Linings Playbook” is taking on his bravest project yet. He’s going to direct the Broadway musical of “A Bronx Tale,” the movie he directed in 1993. Chazz Palminteri, who wrote the original movie and acted in and the Broadway play (which he also wrote), is writing the book for the musical now. David Bryan of Bon Jovi, who won the Tony for “Memphis,” is writing the songs. (Expect a lot of doo wop– they should call Richard Perry.) Sergio Trujillo — of Jersey Boys and Addams Family fame– is working on the choreography.

I know all this because the one and only Tommy Mottola is producing the musical, and he told me all about it yesterday. (Mottola is in partnership with Broadway’s The Dodgers.) Tommy and I were talking about his own musical memoir, the autobiography called “Hitmaker” in book stores now. Mottola called me from Miami where he’s working on two more books–including one about the Latin culture and “the whole demographic.” Mottola is also working on a musical version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly,” directed by Bill T. Jones– aimed for Broadway next winter. Curtis Mayfield is hot hot hot–first “Sparkle,” now “Superfly.”

Well, Tommy is a man for all seasons. And he’s reinventing himself as a Broadway tycoon, a new David Merrick. And let me tell you, he’s going to do it, too!

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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