Huey Lewis Was Inspired By 'Mamma Mia' For His Next 'Career Event'

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | March 29, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | March 29, 2024 |

Jukebox musicals can be hit or miss. Taking songs meant to be heard singularly and using them to propel a narrative is not easy. I would argue that most don’t do that successfully. There are outliers. Rock Of Ages was a Broadway smash, using eighties glam rock hits, and became one of the longest-running shows on Broadway. Mamma Mia, a show fueled by the music of ABBA, is one of the most successful Broadway shows ever made. It also inspired another rocker to get in on the act.

The music of Huey Lewis and the News is making its way to the Great White Way. The musical, aptly titled The Heart of Rock’n’Roll, begins previews on Broadway this week. Previews are when a show may be working out a few kinks before its actual run of shows. All shows do this, even one like Huey’s, which has been in development for nine years.

To celebrate his new show, Huey stopped by The Daily Show to chat with host Jordan Klepper. After mostly watching Klepper deal with delusional sociopaths and insurrections, it was wonderful to see him talk to someone he’s actually a fan of. Huey is also clearly grateful to be working on this show. He discusses the show’s origins, the early days of MTV, and being inspired to take his music to the theater because he loved Mamma Mia.

I have seen my fair share of jukebox musicals. They aren’t usually my favorite. It will be impossible for me to be objective about this one. I love Huey Lewis and the News and will be going to see this show the first chance I get. Between this and The Lost Boys musical that’s due out later this year, everyone should probably avoid my theater opinions; they will be biased as hell.