'Nerds' Musical About Steve Jobs and Bill Gates' Rivalry Cancels Broadway Run - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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

by

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.

Top Rated Comments

133 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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 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.



:D:p:cool:
You 'da man.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 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 ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 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.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
133 months ago
My goodness I wonder what this would be like! Hope they resurrect it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 months ago
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Why You Might Want to Wait to Buy a MacBook Pro

Friday May 1, 2026 3:43 pm PDT by
Apple refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max models in March 2026, but depending on your needs and interests, you might want to skip this generation because there's something better in the works. The M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models have faster chips, but the same design that Apple has used since 2021. An updated design with new display technology and faster ...
Apple Announces 2026 Pride Band Watch Face and iPhone Wallpaper Article 2

iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

Monday May 4, 2026 8:40 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 is expected to be released next week, following more than a month of beta testing. The update is relatively minor, but there are a couple of new features and changes across the operating system that we have recapped below. iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app, and it will include a new Pride wallpaper and a...