The family famous for their long beards, duck-calls and strong Christian beliefs are bound for the stage in Las Vegas, where actors will soon portray them in a new musical.
“The musical is based on son Willie Robertson and wife Korie’s 2012 book, ’The Duck Commander Family,’ and the family has approval rights over the script and casting,” ABC News reported. The show is planned to premiere in Las Vegas early next year and will be 90 minutes long with “a 14-song score that mixes country, blues and show tunes. The proposed opening number: ’Faith, Food, and Family.’ ”
“I think the expectation is that it’ll be all chicken-pickin’ stuff and banjos, but what we’re trying to do is pull out as much heart, humor and sincerity as we can to keep people surprised,” Steven Morris, one of the composers of the upcoming musical, said in The New York Times.
The planned production has already faced a fair amount of backlash, months before it is set to debut.
“It’s pretty disgusting, but it’s also a reminder that Broadway is mostly about making entertainment today — not art — even if it means getting involved with a family whose members say things that offend a lot of people working on Broadway,” said Emanuel Azenberg, a veteran producer whose current musical is “The Last Ship,” in the article.
Mr. Azenberg is referring to the anti-gay comments made by “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family, in a GQ article earlier this year, which landed him in the center of a media firestorm.
The musical’s director, Jeff Calhoun, married his partner three years ago and was personally offended by Mr. Robertson’s comments, reported The New York Times.
He said that his husband’s family members, who are from Florida and Texas, are “very much from this world” of the Robertsons, and that he made peace a long time ago with their differing outlooks.
“We’ve agreed to disagree on some things, but we’re family and we love and respect each other,” Mr. Calhoun said. “I like to think that this musical could bridge some gaps, too.”
Korie Robertson, daughter-in-law of Phil Robertson, stressed that the musical is geared toward families. “It’s gonna be cool and it’ll be another play that people can take their kids to,” she told Us Weekly. “We love to go to musicals when we go to New York. … We’re excited!”
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