This blog used to track the fate of a stage musical called The Nutty Professor based on the 1963 movie starring Jerry Lewis. The musical was directed by Mr. Lewis and for several years, he kept announcing that it was going to open at this theater on Broadway or that theater not on Broadway and he gave dates as if they were firm and with one exception, they turned out to be imaginary. At one point, he announced that a tryout was booked for certain dates at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego and apparently, no one had spoken to anyone at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego about this.
That tryout never happened but the show did get a run in Nashville from July 24 through August 19 of 2012 and there was a production at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine from July 1 through August 6 of 2022. There also seems to have been a production of it in Sandy. Utah from July 1 through August 1 of last year…and if anyone else has put it on, I haven't been able to find it on the Internet.
Recently, as they do every so often, Playbill posted a short list of shows that are soon to open on Broadway and a very long list of shows that are hovering about, most of them playing somewhere, waiting for the deal that will enable them to open on The Great White Way. There is no trace of The Nutty Professor on this list, nor has it been on the last few such lists.
So what's happened to it? The reviews in Nashville and Ogunquit were pretty good and most thought a New York residency was likely. The passing of Mr. Lewis in 2017 might have had some effect but it didn't stop the Ogunquit run and frankly, there hadn't been much movement in the five years before Jerry went to that big telethon in the sky. I don't have any answers to this question…and I'm wondering if anyone involved with the property has tried approaching any stars about doing it in New York.
I would think that if it's as good as the reviewers said and if they could get Martin Short to star in it, it would run as long as…well, as long as Martin Short was willing to do it. Of course, that's supposing there's anyone involved with the property trying to get the show up in Manhattan.
Here are some scenes from the Ogunquit production…