Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film in which a 15-year-old aspiring journalist cuts his teeth on the road with an up-and-coming rock band, is not an obvious choice for a Broadway musical despite being predominantly about music. Or, more accurately, about musicians and devotion – a charitable reading of the film, whose fans I’m not convinced overlap that much with musical theater, would say it pondered the ineffable qualities that make a star. The difference between a good band and a great one, a solid night onstage and magic, poser and cool.
Like just-good bands, the new Broadway version, adapted by Crowe with music and lyrics by Tom Kitt, has some of the right ingredients – overall convincing performances, kinetic choreography, the sheen of nostalgia, both for the 2000 film and 70s rock’n’roll. But the overall chemistry is lackluster, bound to elicit more shrugs than screams.
