Legendary Hollywood writer, director, actor and producer Garry Marshall has some choice words of advice for those obsessed with the current fiscal crisis. “Forget the Ponzi trouble, and come see Fonzie!” he says. His latest creation, Happy Days – A New Musical, plays The Fox from March 31 through April 5.
The musical, like the television show, harkens back to a happier, more carefree America, circa 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisc. For a decade (1974-1984), TV audiences were riveted by the relatively angst-free adventures of Richie Cunningham, his pal Arthur Fonzarelli, a.k.a. “The Fonz,” and the rest of their gang as they hung out after school at Arnold’s diner. And it’s that kind of innocent entertainment Marshall promises audiences will find in his new musical.
“Sometimes we just need to forget about our problems,” Marshall says. “This is a happy show, a family show — there’s no need to cover anyone’s ears during any part of the show. You come see Fonzie and have a couple hours of fun.”
Marshall has been in show business for well over 40 years. Among his hundreds of credits are the hit movies Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries; and TV shows “Laverne & Shirley,” “Mork & Mindy” and “The Odd Couple.” But Happy Days – A New Musical is the first time he has written the book for a Broadway musical.
“I did a lot of shows [but] ‘Happy Days’ is the one I always thought was most like a musical,” Marshall says. “The characters are bigger than life. Back when the show was on, everybody had pictures of Fonzie on their underwear, coffee cups, on lunchboxes … so even if you never saw the show, the characters are so clear.”
The adaptation process began with a workshop at Marshall’s Falcon Theatre, in Burbank, Calif. He directed the workshop, cobbled together the book and brought on Oscar-winning composer Paul Williams to write the music and lyrics. Ultimately, Gordon Greenberg directed the final product, which opened Sept. 30, 2007.
The story of Happy Days – A New Musical revolves around the gang’s old hangout, Arnold’s, which is being threatened with demolition. Richie and his friends cook up a plan to save it by having a dance contest.
“I enjoyed this process so much, but it’s difficult,” Marshall says. “One of the challenges is to find kids who can sing, dance and act. A lot of them can be on reality shows, or one of them can act, or one can sing, but we need all three in one person. [And] we managed to find them for this show.”
Great care was put into casting the role of Fonzie, the most iconic figure of the show. In fact, Henry Winkler (the original Fonzie) helped coach and style actor Joey Forge, who plays Fonzie on tour. “Henry and I worked with him to get it just right,” Marshall says. “You’d never be able to tell that it’s not Henry Winkler.”
Brooke Phillips is a freelance writer, based in Atlanta, and a frequent contributor to Encore Atlanta.
