Jimmy Fallon Confirms He’s Heading to Broadway

Tuesday night on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon announced that he is heading to Broadway for a stage performance of Almost Famous. The comedian starred in the film version with under writer-director Cameron Crowe, who had previously promised to let Fallon reprise his role as Dennis Hope if he so chose. When Fallon was reminded of that vow on Tuesday, he accepted the offer as if making up his mind on the spot.

Fallon interviewed Crowe on Tuesday night about his plan to adapt Almost Famous into a Broadway musical. He asked Crowe if his character, band manager Dennis Hope would be in the stage version, and Crowe confirmed that he would. He said: “My dream has always been to have you come and be the link between the two casts – the cast of the musical… and the movie. So, I would like you to come on the Broadway stage and play your part again of Dennis Hope.”

“Really?! I’m in!” Fallon responded over the audience’s thunderous applause. “I would be- Absolutely! I’m in, oh my god!” Crowe explained that the part is currently played by an actor named Jakeim Hart, but Fallon said: “I’ll talk to Jakeim, we’ll work it out.”

Crowe made it clear that this had been planned out a bit in advance. He said: “Knowing that you might step in, I kind of re-wrote the scene for advanced Jimmy fever. Like, I really wanted to get a scene worthy of you.” As a matter of fact, Crowe had teased this plan three years ago while promoting another project. He promised Fallon that he had an open invitation to come down to Broadway and play his old role, to which Fallon said at the time: “I’m speechless.”

Crowe also teased Fallon’s cameo earlier this week. He told Deadline that he envisioned the cast as a “band” where performers could rotate in “to jam,” adding: “The whole thing began with Jimmy – as the link between the two casts.” At the time, reporters noted that Fallon had recently grown out his beard for the first time since he starred in the movie version of Almost Famous back in 2000.

Almost Famous is a dramedy about a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone Magazine in the early 1970s and tracking the rise of rock and roll music itself. The cast also includes Patrick Fugit, Michael Angarano, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Bijou Phillips, Noah Taylor, Philip Seymour Hoffman and many others.

At the time of this writing, Almost Famous is streaming on Paramount+, Hulu and Showtime. Tickets to the Broadway show are available now. It’s not clear when Fallon will drop in, nor how many times he may do so.