Forty years after David Foster began writing music聽for聽movies, a list that would include St. Elmo鈥檚 Fire, The聽Secret of My Success and The聽Bodyguard, the Victoria-born tunesmith has developed a passion for the stage.
Chilling out in a suite at Bayview One after being honoured at a Canadian College of Performing Arts fundraiser last Saturday night, Foster said his current list of projects includes development of Betty Boop, a musical based on Max Fleischer鈥檚 Depression-era cartoon sex symbol.
Foster has composed 35 songs for the New York-bound musical he鈥檚 collaborating on with聽Bill Haber, the Broadway producer whose credits include War Horse and Spamalot.
鈥淏etty Boop is being fast-tracked now,鈥� said Foster, 67, who聽was in Victoria to attend a聽75th birthday party on June 30 at Strathcona Hotel鈥檚 Distrikt nightclub for his first wife, singer-songwriter B.J. Cook.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 at the point where we can do a 29-hour read, lock things down and workshop it by聽the end of the year.鈥�
He鈥檚 acutely aware there are no聽guarantees it will reach Broadway, which he says just makes the journey that much more thrilling.
As Hello Dolly! composer Jerry Herman discovered when Penny in My Pocket, his cherished solo number for Horace Vandergelder, was cut prior to Hello Dolly鈥檚 original opening in 1964 because of time constraints, Foster realizes he, too, will face changes and omissions. (The happy ending for Herman, incidentally, was that his beloved tune was reinstated for the Broadway revival with Bette Midler.)
One of Foster鈥檚 favourite numbers, Wake Up, has already been reworked, renamed Lean In and moved from Betty Boop鈥檚 opening to its midpoint.
鈥淎ll going well, by the fall of 2018, we should be up and running,鈥� said Foster.
Another labour of love is his development of an autobiographical one-man-show ostensibly inspired by Billy Crystal鈥檚 700聽Sundays.
He originally took the concept to Des McAnuff, the former Stratford Festival artistic director and Broadway director (Jersey Boys, Big River), who referred him to choreographer Kelly Devine (Come From Away).
鈥淪he put together a one-man show for me, as a director, and then she got sidetracked by the Newfoundland hit,鈥� said Foster. Come From Away, a musical about how Gander residents responded to travellers forced to land in the community after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has won several theatre awards, including a Tony.
Although Foster has been credited as an actor before 鈥� he appeared as the Oscars conductor in The Bodyguard, for instance 鈥� this project will put his acting abilities to the test.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like anything you鈥檝e seen me do before,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real story, and I really have to act. I can鈥檛 do any schmoozing. It鈥檚 a lot of hard work, but I like new challenges.鈥�
RUSHES: Principal photography begins next week on Front Street Pictures鈥� latest Hallmark project, Gourmet Detective 4, filming at locations including the Uplands and Metchosin. 鈥� While there鈥檚 still no confirmation on a potential Pup Star 3 shoot here this summer, the last entry in Air Bud Entertainment鈥檚 popular canine franchise 鈥� Pup Star: Better 2Gether, filmed here last year 鈥� debuts on digital and VOD on Aug.聽29. Meanwhile, the first film in the Pup Star series chronicling the adventures of Tiny, the adorable Yorkie pup and TV singing star, is聽available on Netflix and had its聽broadcast premi猫re on Disney Channel. Fans of聽Disney鈥檚 popular Descendants franchise, filmed in part here, will聽also be able to see Disney鈥檚 Descendants 2 starting July 21, when it debuts across six聽networks, including Disney Channel, ABC and Lifetime.