Happy Days Musical opens in Torontos Elgin Theatre with creator Garry Marshall
February 5, 2009 by Richard Budman ·
TORONTO (HoundsTV) Feb 3, 2009 – Happy Days, a New Musical opened in Toronto’s Elgin Theatre with original series creator Garry Marshall in attendance. The Toronto show, courtesy of Dancap Productions, is currently on a North American tour.
The key role of Arthur (the Fonz) Fonzerelli is played by Joey Sorge (The Drowsy Chaperone.) The original “Fonz” actor Henry Winkler met with and even had a hand in personally training Sorge for the Happy Days musical role.
Marshall said he created the original Happy Days characters while growing up in the fifties. “But I was never Fonzie. More like Potsie. Or Richie. But I guess there is a little bit of me in all the characters.” Marshall said to HoundsTV just before he was to take his seat for the opening night performance.
As for seeing actors he worked closely with before, Ron Howard and Anne Hathaway (directed by Marshall in the Princess Diaries) be nominated for Oscars this year, Marshall beamed like a proud father, “I’m always proud of my kids.”
As for the chances of seeing his creation on the big screen one day, Marshall felt it “worked better as a musical” but he was always looking out for the perfect big screen Fonzie.
As to why bring Happy Days to Toronto now, Dancap president Aubrey Dan said, “In these economic times. Happy Days is what we need.”
Let’s hope the musical finds some happy days at the box office. One of the next productions scheduled for the Elgin Theatre won’t even get that chance. According to this report in The Globe & Mail – The deepening recession in Canada is starting to claim some theatrical victims.
Happy Days, a New Musical runs through February 15th at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre.
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