Grumpy Old Men (musical)

The play is set in the small town of Wabasha, Minnesota. Next-door neighbors John Gustafson and Max Goldman keep up a decades-old feud, stemming from when John married May, whom Max was also courting. Now widowers, they spend their days ice fishing and insulting each other. Other townspeople include John's 90-year-old father; Chuck, the owner of the local bait shop; his odd cousin Punky who has just moved in with him; and accident-prone mailman Harry.

Both men are lonely since the passing of their wives. John is in trouble with the IRS, owing $18,000 in back taxes and $96,000 in penalties. He's forced to sell his beloved piano to raise money. His daughter, Melanie, has separated from her husband. When John insists that she move in with him, she lies and says she's already engaged to Max's son Jacob, a local attorney. The entire town, including the fathers, is delighted with the news. Melanie and Jacob go along with the charade, as they secretly harbor feelings for each other.

Ariel Truax, a well-traveled and cosmopolitan widow, moves into the home across the street. Both Max and John spy on her, but rebuff her attempts at friendship. They spy Chuck spending Thanksgiving with her, who later chastizes the men for being afraid of Ariel. Chuck dies in his sleep shortly afterwards, leaving his store and house to Punky, a fishing trophy to Max, and the lock box that he stored his retirement savings in to John.

Max and John vow to win Ariel's heart. She befriends Max but is smitten with John, who's nervous and awkward after years of living alone. Heartless IRS agent Sandra Snyder tells Max of John's financial troubles and how he's about to lose his house. Max tells her about his inheritance. Ariel and John sleep together and start a relationship. Max is furious, saying that this is the second woman John has stolen a woman from him. John reminds him that his marriage to May was unhappy, while Max's marriage was sound; Max got the better deal. Max reminds John that he won't be able to take care of Ariel when he loses his house. Realizing that John is right, he ends things with Ariel. Meanwhile, Melanine plans to move to California while Jacob is offered a high-paying job in New York.

John tells Max that he broke up with Ariel, but suffers a heart attack. Max realizes how much John means to him. At the hospital, as John's friends keep vigil, Agent Snyder shows up, having confiscated the lock box. She demands Punky unlock it, only to find that Chuck donated his money to the VFW and the box only contains a childhood photo of Max and John. Ariel tells an unresponsive John that she still cares for him and that she doesn't believe he really wanted to end things. He wakes up. Melanie and Jacob admit their mutual attraction and decide to stay in Wabasha.

The following spring, Melanie and Jacob are together, with Jacob running for mayor of the town. John has made a full recovery and is about to marry Ariel, with Max serving as his best man. Ariel surprises John by presenting him with his old piano. Max loans John the $18,000 he needs to pay off the IRS. The penalties were mysteriously forgiven after Snyder spent the night with John's father. John and Ariel get married.

Grumpy Old Men: The Musical was the brainchild of actor/producer Jeff Gardner.^[3] With a goal to produce a Broadway musical, he felt the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men—with its midwestern backdrop and rich emotional story—was well-suited to musical adaptation. Gardner envisioned a traditional Golden Age musical with a strong book and old-style score. Gardner earned a limited option from both Warner Bros., the film's producer, and Mark Steven Johnson, the screenwriter.

To create the music and lyrics, he commissioned Neil Berg, composer of The 12^[4] and off-Broadway musical The Prince and the Pauper,^[5] and writer and lyricist Nick Meglin, the multi-decade editor of MAD Magazine. Berg and Meglin had previously collaborated on an award-winning musical sequel to A Christmas Carol entitled Tim and Scrooge.^[6] For the book, Gardner turned to actor and playwright Dan Remmes, best known for his award-winning romantic comedies including Three Tables.^[7] Gardner had previously worked with Remmes as producer of his play, Night Out, at the Theater in Old Town, San Diego.

Director Glenn Casale was attached to direct.^[8] David Holcenberg served as the original music supervisor.

An unpublicized table read of the first draft took place in North Hollywood, Los Angeles in 2007. It featured George Hearn and Len Cariou in roles of John and Max, Adrienne Barbeau as Ariel, Charles Durning as Grandpa, Garrett Morris as Chuck, Vicki Lewis as IRS agent Snyder (in a gender reversal from the movie) and Carol Kane in the role of Punky, a new character Remmes created specifically for the musical.

Subsequent invitation-only industry readings in New York City featured many of the same actors as the Hollywood table read^[9] in addition to (in various combinations) F. Murray Abraham, Christopher Lloyd, John Schuck, Marilu Henner, Ken Page and Joshua Malina.^[10][11]

In 2011, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Canada offered to provide a world premiere mainstage production.^[12] The season slot available conflicted with the schedule of director Glenn Casale. Producer Gardner opted to seize the opportunity and proceed without Casale.

Director Bill Castellino was chosen to step in. Elizabeth Baird served as musical director. John MacInnis choreographed. Budget constraints required contractual and creative concessions from all three writers. It also prevented composer Neil Berg and lyricist Nick Meglin from attending rehearsals. Book-writer Dan Remmes was financed to attend a portion of rehearsals.

Castellino applied his own vision to the expedited production, which starred John Rubinstein and John Schuck as John and Max, respectively. (Schuck had previously portrayed Grandpa in developmental readings.) Arial was portrayed by Susan Anton with Ken Page as Chuck. The score was orchestrated by Larry Hochman. The supporting roles were cast from a pool of Canadian actors, largely Toronto-based. Without Berg or Meglin present, and with Remmes on site only part of the time, the show was hastily modified to accommodate the large stage, new cast and replaced director.^[13]

The limited engagement ran from October 13 to November 5, 2011.^[14]

Following the Canadian production, the producers were drained of development money. The project was indefinitely shelved. Contract options with the writers were not renewed.

Remmes, Berg and Meglin were left in sole legal possession of their script, score and lyrics, which were unmarketable without the subsidiary rights from the 1993 film—contracts that had also expired.

In 2017, six years after the contracts expired, composer Berg—a producer in his own right^[15]—yearned to resurrect the show. Partnering with co-writers Remmes and Meglin, they obtained new limited agreements direct from film producer Warner Bros. and screenwriter Johnson.

Minus the constraints of producers and investors, the writing team reconfigured the script, score and lyrics and financed an invitation-only industry reading of the reworked show in New York City.^[16] The readings were directed by Nick Corley and music directed by Wendy Bobbitt Cavett. It featured a new cast of Broadway actors, including Lee Wilkof as Max, John Hillner as John, Luba Mason as Ariel and Didi Conn as Punky.

Critical response to the two United States east- and west-coast premieres was largely positive.

In 2019, TRW classified the show as a Premier Title and made licensing available for regional and international productions.^[32]