''Rocky the Musical'' (originally ''Rocky: Das Musical'') is a 2012

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music by

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', wh ...

, lyrics by

Lynn Ahrens Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Aw ...

, and a book by Thomas Meehan and

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

, based on the 1976 film of the same name written by Stallone. The show held its world premiere in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 2012 and opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 2014 at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

Background

The musical is based on the 1976 film ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'', with a screenplay by

. The film itself was made on a budget of $1,075,000, shot in 28 days and was a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

, earning $225 million in global box office receipts becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976 and went on to win three

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

, including

Best Picture The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

. Having been in the works for eight years, a workshop was held in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in April 2011, with

Andy Karl Andy Karl (born August 27, 1974 as Andrew Karl Cesewski) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for performing in musical theatre specifically musicals adapted from successful movies. He has received several accolades including a Laur ...

playing Rocky and Lisa Brescia playing Adrian. Following the reading it was officially confirmed in November by producer Sylvester Stallone alongside boxers and co-producers Vitali and

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...

, that the show would receive its world premiere in

in November 2012. The musical, which premiere production cost around $20 million to produce, has a book by Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone, adapted from Stallone's screenplay, and is directed by

Alex Timbers Alex Timbers (born August 7, 1978) is an American writer and director best known for his work on stage and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Drama Desk Award, as well as nominations ...

, with choreography by Kelly Devine, boxing choreography by

Steven Hoggett Steven Hoggett (born 30 November 1971) is a British choreographer and movement director. He has won an Olivier Award as well as an Obie Award, has been nominated four times for a Drama Desk Award and three times for a Tony Award. Early life ...

, set design by Christopher Barreca, costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Christopher Akerlind, sound design by Peter Hylenski, video design by Pablo N. Molina and special effects by Jeremy Chernick. A mostly original score has been penned, by

with music by

. The show's set, which for Broadway cost $4.3 million, is set around a mostly bare stage which represents the Gym that Rocky trains in. The production uses sliding box-like sets to represent the homes of the characters and the sliding element goes on to include a full sized regulation

boxing ring A boxing ring, often referred to simply as a ring or the squared circle, is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring consists of a square raised platform with a post at each corner. Four ropes are attached to the posts and pulled p ...

. Audience members seated within the front stalls Golden Circle seating section, are escorted onto the stage for the final 20 minutes to sit on

bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

style seats, in doing so this allows the boxing ring to enter the auditorium and sit in rows A-F, bringing the audience close to the final fight scene.

Production history

Hamburg (2012)

''Rocky the Musical'' received its world premiere on 18 November 2012, at the Operettenhaus,

. The production opened to positive reviews and title casting included Drew Sarich as

Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name the Italian Stallion) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the ''Rocky'' franchise. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in eight of ...

, Wietske van Tongeren playing

Adrian Pennino Adrianna Pennino-Balboa is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' series, played by Talia Shire. She is the love interest of Rocky Balboa. Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Adrian in ''Rocky''. Th ...

and Terence Archie playing

Apollo Creed Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' franchise, portrayed by Carl Weathers. He appears in the first four '' Rocky'' films, serving as the main antagonist in '' Rocky'' and '' Rocky II'', and later becoming one of the pr ...

. Having been written in English, the show was translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for its world premiere.

Broadway (2014)

On 28 April 2013, it was announced the show would transfer to

in February 2014. The show was expected to open on 13 March 2014, at the

, with previews commencing on 11 February 2014. The first preview was cancelled as a result of delayed technical rehearsals, due to power problems in the area. Following a scheduled rehearsal day, previews commenced on 13 February. The cast included

as Rocky,

Margo Seibert Margo Seibert (born July 21, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Early life Seibert is the daughter of Debbie (née Sykes) and Willis Seibert. She has one sister. She graduated from Glenelg High School in 2002 and American University in 2 ...

as Adrian and Terence Archie transferring from the Hamburg production, to reprise his role as Apollo Creed.

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. He is best known as Herb Kelcher in '' My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in '' Gilmore Girls'' (2000 ...

, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Jennifer Mudge and Okieriete Onaodowan were also in the cast in supporting roles. The cast performed as part of the ceremony for the 68th Tony Awards in June 2014. The show was expected to close on 17 August 2014, after a run of 28 previews and 188 performances.

Prague (2017)

''Rocky the Musical'' came to Prague for a short 4-to-5 month run. It was performed at the Prague Congress Centre.

Brazil (2025)

''Rocky the Musical'' came to Brazil for a short run, opening in March 2025 and closing May 2025. It was performed at the 033 Rooftop, in an immersive production.

Music

The show features 20 original songs, with additional music taken from the original

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

including "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'' and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, '' Eye of the Tiger''. Sylvester Stallone, the di ...

" and "

Gonna Fly Now "Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from ''Rocky''", is the theme song from the movie ''Rocky'', composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with ''Rock ...

Musical numbers

; Act I * "Ain't Down Yet" - Company * "My Nose Ain't Broken" - Rocky * "Raining" - Adrian * "Patriotic" - Apollo Creed, Miles Jergens, Apollo Girls * "My Nose Ain't Broken (Reprise)" - Rocky * "The Flip Side" - Rocky, Adrian * "Adrian" - Rocky * "Wanna Know Why" - Gazzo, Buddy, Rocky, Mickey * "Fight From the Heart" - Rocky * "One of Us" - Company ; Act II * "Training Montage #1" - Company * "In the Ring" - Mickey * "Training Montage #2" - Company * "Happiness" - Rocky, Adrian * "I'm Done" - Adrian * "Southside Celebrity" - Company * "Adrian (Reprise)" - Adrian * "Keep On Standing" - Rocky * "Undefeated Man"- Apollo, Entourage * "The Fight" - Company

Principal roles and original cast

Reception

Critical response

The Hamburg production of ''Rocky the Musical'' received positive reviews from critics.

Accolades

Original Broadway production

References

External links

* {{Ahrens/Flaherty 2012 musicals Musicals based on films Rocky (franchise) music Musicals by Lynn Ahrens Musicals by Stephen Flaherty Musicals by Thomas Meehan (writer) Klitschko brothers Boxing music Tony Award–winning musicals Rocky (franchise) mass media Musicals set in the 1970s Sports musicals