Is ‘Gilligan’s Island: The Musical’ Broadway Bound?
The next big Broadway hit might just involve a trip to an uncharted desert isle with seven eccentric castaways. That’s right, classic ’60s sitcom ‘Gilligan’s Island’ is looking to set sail for Broadway.
Before passing away last July, ‘Gilligan’s Island’ creator, Sherwood Schwartz and son, Lloyd wrote the book for ‘Gilligan’s Island: The Musical’ while daughter, Hope and her musician husband, Laurence Juber composed the music. The family then approached stage producer, Dianne Fraser to bring the show to Broadway in the next two years, pending interest from investors.
The show has been performed in smaller theaters across the country and stays true to the format of the TV series with all the original characters, except for one thing: there’s an alien.
“It’s not intentionally campy, it’s funny in a broad way and very true to the show, ” said Fraser. “It’s amazing how even kids know about it because they’ve seen it on Nick at Night. It’s still Gilligan, the bumbling sidekick to the professor, saving the world. And yes, it’s all seven characters, plus an alien. The songs are very commercial.”
Fraser also mentioned the possibility of stunt-casting a big Hollywood name in the role of Ginger, the Professor or one of the Howells and going with an ‘American Idol’ contestant for Gilligan.
With one of catchiest theme songs of all time, ‘Gilligans Island’ seems like a natural fit for the Great White Way. Not sure about the alien, though.