Early last year, Billy Crystal lost a house to the wildfires that swept through Los Angeles. He and his family had lived in it for 46 years.
Now he’s turned that experience into a one-man show that he plans to bring to Broadway this fall. Its title, “860,” refers to the street number of the house, which was in Pacific Palisades.
Crystal, who also has a home in New York, planned to mention the Broadway plan during an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” and announced details in a news release early Wednesday morning.
The show, directed by Scott Ellis, is scheduled to run for 12 weeks, starting in October, at an unspecified Shubert theater. It is being produced by Crystal’s own company, Face Productions, and by his wife, Janice, as well by Larry Magid, a music promoter who has long collaborated with Crystal, and James L. Nederlander, a Broadway theater owner.
Crystal made his Broadway debut in 2004 with another one-man show, “700 Sundays,” which was honored with a Tony Award as a “special theatrical event,” and he returned to perform that show again in 2013. Then in 2022 he co-wrote and starred in a short-lived musical, “Mr. Saturday Night,” based on a film in which he had also starred.
In a statement, Crystal described the new show as “challenging,” and said, “I invite you to come inside 860 and I’ll tell you all the funny and touching things that happened there, not only in my career but to our family. It’s a joyous and heartfelt visit, about how with the love of family and friends and your inner strength, you can get through tough times.”
Crystal, 78, has been famous since the 1970s, when he starred in the sitcom “Soap.” He became a cast member on “Saturday Night Live”; has worked extensively in film and television as an actor, writer and director; has written multiple books; and has performed as a comedian. He has won six Emmy Awards.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
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