It’s Bill Gates versus Steve Jobs in high-tech Broadway musical Nerds

By Stephanie Topacio Long January 14, 2016

nerds broadway bill gates steve jobs flickr — David Geller/Flickr

If you’ve always wanted to see a Broadway musical about the “rise and rivalry” of tech visionaries Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, your dream is about to come true. A musical called Nerds will focus on the tech icons when it opens this spring at Broadway’s Longacre Theater, according to an announcement from its producers, Carl Levin, Vicki Halmos, Elizabeth Williams, Greenleaf Productions, and Clear Channel Spectacolor.

The “musical dot-comedy” will follow Gates and Jobs as they develop into tech kings, taking “a hilarious musical journey from the floppy disc era to the iPhone phenomenon.” The competition between the two will also be highlighted, along with how they revolutionized modern culture, complete with a lot of laughs.

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“We’re thrilled to add a jolt of comedy to this already astounding theater season, with this hilarious tale of the Founding Fathers of Tech, from a creative team stacked with new voices,” said Levin in a press release.

Technophiles should be excited about more than just the musical’s plot; the production is also said to feature “the most progressive technology seen on Broadway.” Not only will there be on-stage holograms, viewers can expect projection mapping and app integrations that allow users to do everything from interact with the set to select the show’s ending.

“While fine-tuning and re-coding the show for this exciting launch, we’ve also been exploring innovative ways to enhance the ‘user experience’ inside the theater, for a uniquely entertaining event — compatible for Broadway audiences of all generations,” said Levin.

The show comes to Broadway having already been originally presented by the Philadelphia Theater Company. The Broadway production will features book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, and music by Hal Goldberg. Casey Hushion directs, while choreography comes from Josh Bergasse. The cast has not yet been announced.

Nerds will begin preview performances on March 31, and then open on April 21.

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Stephanie Topacio Long

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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