Is there going be a musical episode of Only Murders in the Building in Season 3?!
While it hasnt been officially confirmed that Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez will be singing and dancing at some point, I recently got a tease from musical impresarios Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Weve worked on the next season of Only Murders in the Building, Shaiman said. Were not allowed to say anything more than that, but you could probably do that math.
The third season also includes appearances by Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd and Jesse Williams.
Shaiman and Wittmans latest Broadway extravaganza, a musical adaptation of Some Like It Hot, earned the most Tony nominations this year with 13 nods, including best musical and J. Harrison Ghee for leading actor in a musical. The show, with music by Shaiman, lyrics by Shaiman and Wittman and a book by Matthew Lpez and Amber Ruffin, recently had its best week in ticket sales, breaking $1 million at the box office.
We love the movie, Shaiman said of the original 1959 Billy Wilder-directed film starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. There are some people who, even working on the show, who dont love the movie as much as Scott and I do, Shaiman said. Its just one of the greatest movies ever. But we were happy to be able to take it to a point that we think Billy Wilder wouldve done if he was working on it.
Wittman added, Steven Spielberg came a few months ago to see the show and he was very close to Billy Wilder. I said, Do you think he would have liked it? Steven said, He would have loved it. I thought that was a good endorsement.
Christian Borle, Marc Shaiman, J. Harrison Ghee, Mariah Carey, Adrianna Hicks and Scott Wittman pose backstage at Some Like it Hot on Broadway at The Shubert Theater on February 10, 2023 in New York City. Bruce Glikas/WireImage Not only is Mariah Carey a producer on the show, but Shaiman said he and the Grammy winner bonded over their love of Bullets Over Broadway. She can recite that entire movie verbatim, and shes really funny, he said. She can play all the parts.
Carey made a surprise appearance during a Some Like It Hot curtain call in February. She was like, I saw the lighting in that one scene and I thought, I hope they have lighting like that, Shaiman said. She was all about the lighting. Shes so brilliant. Shes exactly what you would expect and want Mariah Carey to be like in real life. I find her to be a total joy to be around.
And then he added, Dont we want to Mariah Carey to win a Tony?
Shaiman and Wittman are currently still developing Smash, the musical inspired by the NBC series of the same name. We had a lovely meeting about casting yesterday, Wittman said. Susan Stroman is directing it and we have a schedule. We have two workshops and then it will open spring of 2025.
Shaiman also exclusively tells me that he is scoring Rob Reiners upcoming documentary feature about Albert Brooks. Ive been working on this thing longer than any movie score Ive ever written, Shaiman said, laughing. Because its not just Rob, its Albert Brooks. Hes not dead, but its his epitaph. He is analyzing every second of everything I write. But it really is amazing all thats done. From television and record and then the movies, its just amazing.