“Weird Al” Yankovic Broadway Musical ‘Dare to Be Stupid’ Is in the Works

A Broadway jukebox musical built around “Weird Al” Yankovic is officially in development, with Deadline reporting that the production will be called Dare to Be Stupid. The soundtrack is set to draw from Yankovic’s long run of parody hits, folding in songs like “White & Nerdy,” his spin on Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’,” along with “Amish Paradise” from Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” “Eat It” from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” “Like a Surgeon” from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” and “Smells Like Nirvana,” which needs little explanation.

Yankovic, naturally, had some fun with the news. “Ever since I was a middle-aged man, I’ve always wanted to be a part of the New York theatre community,” he told Deadline in a statement. “Plus, the one thing people always say about Broadway is that it’s ‘severely lacking in Weird Al-based entertainment,’ and I think this musical should fix that problem immediately.”

Dare to Be Stupid will be directed by Alex Timbers, whose Broadway credits include All In, the Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs-based show, and Here Lies Love, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s disco musical. The project arrives after Yankovic was the subject of the 2022 biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic. He’s also got 90 shows booked across North America between now and mid-October, so there’s no shortage of Weird Al activity right now.

Madison Bloom’s review of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, The “Weird Al” Movie Is a Goofball’s Paradise, is available to revisit as well.