Producer Mark Lamica and Music Industry Buds Shell Out Big Bucks for Hopeful New Broadway Music Man

Mark Lamica, former business partner of Michael Jackson’s late manager Frank Dileo, is planning to co-produce a big-budget musical with three other industry professionals. The musical, which Lamica is co-creating, is currently titled The Man and will cost an estimated $35 million. It will aim to play both in Vegas and on Broadway beginning late 2013 or 2014, according to Variety.

The move that Lamica and his co-producers are making from the music industry to the world of Broadway producing in not completely unprecedented. The late John Cossette, who made his name producing music awards shows like the Grammys and specials for BET, became one of the lead producers of the successful Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, which opened on Broadway in 2010.

To give you a sense of scale, however, that $35 million price tag is nearly four times the cost of American Idiot, the recent Broadway hit which featured music by the punk rock band Green Day. Idiot ran on Broadway for over a year (a considerable feat when you consider that multiple shows that opened in 2012 closed within weeks) but grossed only $34 million.

The Man will tell the story of the rise and fall of a fictional music-industry superstar. Described as a “dram-ical,” it will be a music-driven show, but the title character won’t sing. Lamica is planning a score that is made up of new songs by music industry big shots, who he has developed relationships with throughout his career.

Though casting and a more detailed production plan are still to be announced, Lamica’s ideal timeline would be for the show to play in Vegas for six months before moving on to a national tour and Broadway debut.

In addition to Mark Lamica, the show’s producers include Quincy Krashna, Jerry Greenberg, and Larry Hart.