ROLLING STONE: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates Musical-Comedy Headed to Broadway

BY JON BLISTEIN January 14, 2016

Aptly titled ‘Nerds’ to chronicle the rise and competition of the tech giants, feature holograms, interactive in-show app

A musical comedy about rival tech pioneers Steve Jobs and Bill Gates will open on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on April 21st.

Nerds will chronicle the rise and competition of the Apple and Microsoft bosses, according to a press release. The show will, unsurprisingly, also incorporate an array of tech, including onstage holograms, projection mapping and an interactive, in-show app that will let audience members engage with each other and select the show’s ending.

Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner penned the show, while Hal Goldberg (The Children) wrote the music. Both Dutton and Weiner grew up in tech hubs — Paolo Alto and San Francisco, respectively — and wrote for the hit Cartoon Network series, Robot Chicken. In 1999, they staged their first play, The Bomb-itty of Errors, a hip-hop adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

Nerds was first presented by the Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2005, winning local Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Original Music. The show has also played a limited engagement at the North Carolina Theater.

The Broadway production of Nerds will be directed by Casey Hushion, who has previously worked on Elf, In the Heights and Aladdin. Emmy winner and Tony nominee Josh Bergasse (Smash, On the Town) will handle the choreography. A cast will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for Nerds are available to purchase now via Telecharge. Previews for the show begin March 31st.