Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

TV Worth Watching Suggests: A Roundabout Way for "Dr. Horrible" to Reach Broadway

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon’s Internet musical miniseries, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, has been received so enthusiastically — justifiably so — there have been whispers about it finding new life, as a regular TV show or even as a stage musical.

I strongly support the latter. On Broadway, no less. And if that sounds absurdly implausible, I hereby suggest the most logical and serendipitous New York venue. Dr. Horrible would find a perfect Broadway home at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Joss Whedon, meet Todd Haimes. Quickly.

Todd Haimes is the long-time Artistic Director at Roundabout, the non-profit theater company to which I’ve subscribed for a dozen years. It was a revival of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company that hooked me. Since then, I’ve delighted to dozens of productions, musical and otherwise, mounted by Haimes, including an imported revival of Cabaret and a brilliant version of Sondheim’s Assassins. dr-horrible-bad-horse.jpg

The reason I mention those two productions in particular is that they both, at some point in their runs, featured Neil Patrick Harris, the talented titular star of Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. (You can download the entire three-part musical at iTunes.)

Harris was one of a string of actors inheriting Alan Cumming’s role as the Cabaret emcee. After that, both Haimes and Sondheim displayed a lot of faith in Harris, by casting him in the pivotal dual role of the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald in 2004’s Assassins.

It seems like the stars are perfectly aligned for Harris to bring his Dr. Horrible role to Roundabout. Harris is a friend of Sondheim’s, Whedon is an unabashed admirer of Sondheim’s, Harris admires Whedon’s work, and Haimes champions both Sondheim and Harris. it’s hard for me to believe that Whedon’s playful yet smart and resonant musical — with its Sondheim flavor and influences — wouldn’t resonate with Haimes, and with Roundabout subscribers. dr-horrible-part-3-lecture.jpg

Schedule a production during Harris’ hiatus from his How I Met Your Mother sitcom in 2009 or 2010, and presto: Haimes can hand Harris his third starring role on Broadway. If Harris hasn’t yet facilitated a conversation between Whedon and Haimes, he ought to. Quickly.

That way, as a season subscriber, I’d have the inside track on tickets.