'Nerds' Musical About Steve Jobs and Bill Gates' Rivalry Cancels Broadway Run

Tuesday March 8, 2016 10:41 PM PST by Husain Sumra
In January it was announced that Nerds, a musical about the rivalry between Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, would begin its Broadway run on March 31, 2016. Today, producer Carl Levin announced that the production would have to cancel its Broadway run, reports Variety.

nerdsmusicalcomedy
“On behalf of my fellow producers and investors, it is with great disappointment that we will be postponing the Broadway opening of ‘Nerds’ due to the loss of a major investor,” said producer Carl Levin (“Rock of Ages”) in a statement. Levin led a team of producers that included Elizabeth Williams, Greenleaf Productions and Clear Channel Spectacolor.
The musical, which featured lyrics by Robot Chicken's Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner and music by Hal Goldberg, was set to feature "an array of tech" that included holograms and a companion app that allowed the audience to choose the show's ending. The musical comedy would chronicle the rise of Jobs and Gates and the competition between their companies.

An early version of Nerds debuted in 2005 at the New York Musical Theater Festival before going on two runs at the Philadelphia Theater Company. In 2013, it had a run at the North Carolina Theater. The latest iteration was in rehearsals with a cast that included The Book of Mormon's Rory O'Malley as Steve Jobs and Memphis' Bryan Fenkart as Bill Gates. While the show will not play Broadway in 2016, producers say a national touring version of the show is in the works.

Tags: Steve Jobs, Nerds, Bill Gates
18 comments


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samcraig
35 months ago
A lot of ignorant comments. The musical was actually so very well received when it was part of a small theater festival that a bunch of producers jumped on board to bring it to Broadway. Maybe some of you don't realize how rare/impressive that is to begin with. Unfortunately, many shows also face financial uncertainty as Producers come and go. The issue here, from what I know/understand is that it was a difficult decision as rehearsals were already underway and one of the major Producers either left for another project or wound up not being able to fulfill what they promised. Other articles indicate that for now, they will instead do a tour. Smart move as this will generate further buzz while they line up other investors to bring it back to Broadway.
Rating: 4 Votes
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SlipperySlop
35 months ago

You can't expect much from something just called "nerds", considering it sounds almost insulting like that. Maker better titles, dumbasses. It's probably more than that, but whatever, just saying what I think about it.


And you must be a very experienced broadway producer to know this. Yea, I know, you're entitled you your opinion, same as the people who opinioned that the world was flat.

I'm sure another investor will pick it up.


How do you know this? I'm sure the producers will win the lottery and be able to finance the show.

Disappointingly low advance ticket sales?


Oh yes. Another wild guess.

News like this is getting embarrassing to read. The human race needs to stop trying to tell us Steve's (and Bill's) stories. We all already know them anyway.


You speak for the human race, do you? Good to know.


Another fascinating response.

A lot of ignorant comments. The musical was actually so very well received when it was part of a small theater festival that a bunch of producers jumped on board to bring it to Broadway. Maybe some of you don't realize how rare/impressive that is to begin with. Unfortunately, many shows also face financial uncertainty as Producers come and go. The issue here, from what I know/understand is that it was a difficult decision as rehearsals were already underway and one of the major Producers either left for another project or wound up not being able to fulfill what they promised. Other articles indicate that for now, they will instead do a tour. Smart move as this will generate further buzz while they line up other investors to bring it back to Broadway.


The rarest thing here. An intelligent and knowledgable response. How dare you do such a thing in the ****pool of ignorance that pervades this forum.

A major investor pulled out? It’s probably better to be known as an aborted run now, rather than as a bomb later.


Did you read the intelligent response above? Of course not.

A major investor pulled out?
So Microsoft is focusing on software development again? :)


HaHaHa.

Maybe it was Apple and they're focusing on improving their cloud services ;)


HaHaHa

For those that haven't seen it -- here is a preview of the NERDS! play.

[MEDIA=youtube]njos57IJf-0[/MEDIA]

:D:p:cool:


You 'da man.
Rating: 3 Votes
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samcraig
35 months ago

A major investor pulled out?
So Microsoft is focusing on software development again? :)


Maybe it was Apple and they're focusing on improving their cloud services ;)
Rating: 2 Votes
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Sirious
35 months ago
I'm sure another investor will pick it up.
Rating: 1 Votes
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orbital~debris
35 months ago
That's disappointing - from the description it sounded promising. It sounds like a lot of effort went into it, and it was almost ready. How frustrating this must be for all involved!
Rating: 1 Votes
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macs4nw
35 months ago
Disappointingly low advance ticket sales?
Rating: 1 Votes
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Laird Knox
35 months ago
Rating: 1 Votes
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roadbloc
35 months ago
News like this is getting embarrassing to read. The human race needs to stop trying to tell us Steve's (and Bill's) stories. We all already know them anyway.
Rating: 1 Votes
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garirry
35 months ago
You can't expect much from something just called "nerds", considering it sounds almost insulting like that. Maker better titles, dumbasses. It's probably more than that, but whatever, just saying what I think about it.
Rating: 1 Votes
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C DM
35 months ago

News like this is getting embarrassing to read. The human race needs to stop trying to tell us Steve's (and Bill's) stories. We all already know them anyway.

We already know all kinds of stories, even those that have been retold over thousands of years, and yet we keep on retelling them just fine without an issue.
Rating: 1 Votes
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