Boys in the Hood

Illustration by Pete Emslie

The Rat Pack hits the Great White Way: a stage adaptation of the 1964 movie musical Robin and the 7 Hoods is aiming for a 2010 Broadway bow.

Casey Nicholaw (Tony nominee for Monty Python's Spamalot and The Drowsy Chaperone) will direct and choreograph the new tuner, which will feature the movie's Academy Award nominated score and song "My Kind of Town". Rounding out the tune stack will be more hits from the Sammy Cahn/James Van Heusen songbook, including "Come Fly with Me" and the Oscar winning "Call Me Irresponsible" (originally heard in the Jackie Gleason comedy Papa's Delicate Condition).

The original film, a Robin Hood tale updated to the age of Prohibition, starred Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. (along with Bing Crosby, Peter Falk and Victor Buono), so casting is key to catch that ultra-suave vibe. Naturally, Harry Connick Jr. immediately springs to mind for the Sinatra role.