Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Billy Crystal Can’t Host the Oscars, He’s Opening “Mr. Saturday Night” on Broadway with Oscar Nominated Co-Star

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Scratch Billy Crystal from the list of potential Oscar hosts. He’s got other things to do.

Crystal is opening the musical based on his film, “Mr. Saturday Night,” with previews starting two days after the Academy Awards on March 29th. I have fingers crossed on this one. Music is by Jason Robert Brown and lyrics are from the amazing Amanda Green. John Rando is directing.

The big headline is that David Paymer has joined the cast. Paymer grabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor when the original movie was released in 1993. Paymer and Crystal have a long working relationship. They worked together on Crystal’s “City Slickers” movies, too.

I sure hope gets a set off credit, and “And David Paymer.”

The rest of the cast includes Randy Graff, Shoshana Bean, Jordan Gelber, Brian Gonzales and Mylinda Hull.

“Mr. Saturday Night” is the story of Buddy Young Jr., an outrageous and outspoken comedian who found fame, if not fortune, in the early days of television.  Now, some 40 years after his TV career flamed out, Buddy seeks one more shot at the spotlight, and while he’s at it, one last shot at fixing the family he fractured along the way.

“Mr. Saturday Night” opens April 27th, right at the deadline for Tony Awards eligibility.

 

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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