‘Airplane!’ Director Jerry Zucker Is Writing Original Musical With Broadway’s ‘Almost Famous’ Composer (Exclusive)

Tom Kitt is hard at work again on a new musical project with another A-list collaborator. The composer, who scored the stage adaptation of Almost Famous alongside Cameron Crowe, exclusively revealed to The Messenger that he is partnering with Jerry Zucker for a new show.

"I'm working with Jerry on a new musical," Kitt told The Messenger on the red carpet at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Gala & Science Fair in New York City on October 10. 

Without divulging too many details, the Pulitzer Prize-winning songwriter — whose Next to Normal just completed an acclaimed run at London's Donmar Warehouse — shared, "I'll tell you that it's an original musical from his genius mind. So if you know Jerry's work, you can imagine how zany and fun the show is."

Unlike Kitt's last Broadway endeavor Almost Famous, based on the 2000 film of the same name, Zucker — known for directing comedy films such as Airplane! and Top Secret! as well as the 1990 award-winning Ghost — is not working from preexisting material. 

Kitt, who also composed the music for Broadway's If/Then starring Idina Menzel, revealed, "It's not based on any of his films."

The film producer, writer and director — who previously worked with First Date songwriters Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner on Intermission! The Musical — was honored Tuesday night at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where NYSCF celebrated the work of those who partnered with the foundation to contribute to stem cell research, advocacy and action. 

"Our daughter has type 1 diabetes; in 1999 she was diagnosed. And so that started our interest [in stem cell research]," Zucker told The Messenger. "I was never a great science student and never really thought about how important it is in people's lives — until you have a need for it."

He added, "The more we started to meet scientists and hear about the research they were doing, particularly stem cell research, we just started to get really excited, not only for our daughter but for the world."