From NJ.com:
A quarter of a penny an hour.
That's how much David Bryan estimates he's made from his adventures in musical theater -- including his current stint as composer and co-lyricist of "The Toxic Avenger." The show, based on the 1985 cult film about a weakling-turned-superhero, will have its world premiere at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick starting Sept. 30.
"I've worked a billion hours and made close to negative money," Bryan says. "Thank God for my day job."
That job is playing keyboards for Bon Jovi, the band he helped found 25 years ago. No question that the group's 120 million in album sales has helped Bryan pay for his home in Colts Neck and support his three children.
Still, Bryan was intrigued two years ago when Joe DiPietro -- who wrote the book and lyrics of the successful off-Broadway show "I Love You! You're Perfect! Now Change!" -- said he was writing a musical version of "The Toxic Avenger."
"I hadn't seen the film," Bryan says. "I just kind of remembered the title and how many people I knew liked it. So we sat down in Joe's apartment in New York and watched it."
"The Toxic Avenger," which spawned several movie sequels, a TV cartoon and a Marvel comic book series, is the story of Melvin, a 90-pound resident of fictitious Tromaville, N.J., who is bullied and humiliated by all -- until he falls into a vat of toxic waste. Melvin becomes a superhero who starts dispensing justice -- to Bryan, not exactly an exciting premise.
"I was more intrigued when I read Joe's draft," he says. "It was funny like the movie, but it had heart, too. Joe's grounded it in a love story. The greatest thing about Joe's writing is that he creates a character that makes you care."
Bryan wrote the music and DiPietro the book, but they collaborated on lyrics. The director is John Rando, who staged "The Wedding Singer" and "Urinetown" on Broadway, and the title role is played by Canadian newcomer Nick Cordero.
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