Empire Records Is Coming to Broadway
With Rex Manning Day just around the corner on April 8, its a perfect time to announce a Broadway ad..
With Rex Manning Day just around the corner on April 8, its a perfect time to announce a Broadway adaptation of the 90s teen classic Empire Records. Starring a murderers row of turn-of-the-millennium talent, including Renée Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Ethan Embry, Robin Tunney, Rory Cochrane and Johnny Whitworth, the original movie takes place over the course of one day as a group of record store employees try to keep their business from being bought by a large company, deal with the requisite teen drama side plots, and preapre for a visit from a fictional washed-up rock star.
“The film has developed a cult audience over the years, and addresses issues that people of all ages can identify with,” producer Bill Weiner told Rolling Stone. “It also evokes an interesting period in time, the Nineties, where the music business was changing—and a lot of people remember that as part of their youth. I knew we had something when I would tell people about the show and consistently see faces light up—everyone has a story, whether its that they saw the movie 10 times, stole the video cassette from an older sibling or the soundtrack was the first CD they ever purchased.”
Carol Heikkinen will adapt her original script for the musical, and said that the new, longer format will allow her to develop the various characters even more. “I think the way that teenagers feel about music hasnt changed—they define themselves by it,” she said. True, Urban Outfitters still offers turntables in their home goods section, and real-life Rex Manning Day celebrations continue to this day. Its actually a wonder Empire Records hasnt gotten the musical treatment yet.
As for the music and lyrics, Empire Records will be overseen by Zoe Sarnak, a rising star on Broadway who just won the Jonathan Larson Grant for her upcoming musical, Afterwords. “Theres so much to mine and be inspired by,” Sarnak said. “Im a huge fan of Nineties alt-rock, and it was a really special time when that style intersected with punk, grunge and even pop. These styles can inform a score that is melodic while still feeling organic, visceral and explosive. Needless to say, this wont be a traditional Broadway score. But excitingly, so many new Broadway musicals are playing with more contemporary styles, so I think theater audiences will dig that.”
Even the one original song from the movie, “Say No More, Mon Amour,” will show up, perhaps with an “unexpected twist.”
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