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Daniel Radcliffe has praised "Weird Al" Yankovic's new musical stage project, telling PEOPLE he's looking forward to it.
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Radcliffe suggested that the musical would parody jukebox musicals, but would also be a distinct work of that genre in its own right.
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The producers announced that in album Dare to Be Stupid The film will feature songs by Yankovic and an original storyline co-written by him.
Yes, Daniel Radcliffe is well aware of "Weird Al" Yankovic's plans to take to the stage.
The 36-year-old Tony Award-winning actor, who plays Yankovic in the 2022 comedy biopic «"Strange: The Al Yankovic Story"» , told PEOPLE about the news that the 66-year-old comedic musician will be performing his music in the new musical "« Dare to Be Stupid» .
Radcliffe, nominated for a 2026 Tony Award for his performance in the play «Every Brilliant Thing» , reacted to the news that Yankovic decided to try his hand at theatre.
«"Look, I'm open to all ideas, and I'd love to..." Radcliffe tells PEOPLE, then trails off.
Radcliffe, who spends a lot of time with the singer who performed the song "Polka Face," shares: "First of all, I'm very happy that he's doing this. He loves the theater. He came to see me in «Merrily We Roll Along »" And "« Every Brilliant Thing »"And he saw"« Gutenberg!"» [ Musical! ]. He watches a lot of performances.".
Daniel Radcliffe holds his 2024 Tony Award. Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
As for the star's plans «Harry Potter» for Yankovic's new project, he has several ideas.
«"I imagine it will be a parody of musicals based on popular songs, which, on the one hand, will be a great musical based on popular songs," says Radcliffe. "I think it will be, and it will be brilliant.".
The British actor remained tight-lipped about whether he would be playing another version of Yankovic in this production, but he did say, "If I'm not there, I'll definitely be at the premiere.".
Daniel Radcliffe and "Weird Al" Yankovic at the 2024 Emmy Awards. Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty
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In mid-May, producers announced the development of the musical "« Dare to Be Stupid: The Weird Al Musical"» , featuring songs from Yankovic's long career, and a story co-written by Grammy Award winner Scott Brown and Anthony King. Tony Award winner Alex Timbers will direct.
«"Ever since I became a middle-aged man, I've always wanted to be part of the New York theater community," Yankovic joked in a statement announcing the project. "Also, people constantly say about Broadway that it's 'sorely lacking in Weird Al-style entertainment,' and I think this musical should immediately address that problem.".
In 2022, Radcliffe proudly embraced his role as the musical satirist, telling PEOPLE, "Putting on a Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I take very seriously, and I'm honored to finally share with the world the absolutely 100 percent undeniably true story of Weird Al's depraved and scandalous life.".
At the time, Yankovic said he was "absolutely thrilled" to have Radcliffe playing him, joking, "I have no doubt that this is the role that future generations will remember him for.".
The film "Strange: The Al Yankovic Story"« received eight Emmy nominations, including one for his role as Radcliffe.
The 2026 Tony Awards ceremony will take place at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7. The show will air live on both coasts on CBS starting at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT and will also be available to stream on Paramount+.
Read the original article on People.