Paul Anka Developing Broadway Bio-Musical with Writer Rupert Holmes

Singer/songwriter Paul Anka is developing a Broadway musical about his life, Variety reports. The project comes after the release of his new documentary, Paul Anka: His Way, which traces the Canadian’s musical journey.

"...For about four or five years now, I’ve talked to different people, and haven’t felt I had the right team in place," Anka told Variety. "Now we’ve just signed Rupert Holmes (as writer) yesterday, and we’ve got backers, in Canada and Primary Wave... I’m ready to go with it now, and we hope to have something tangible in about a year and a half."

Holmes' previous stage credits include The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the recent Gilbert and Sullivan reimagining, Pirates! The Penzance Musical.

Anka has long hoped to bring his story to the stage. A 2024 report in the Canadian Press indicated that he had been working on a Jersey Boys-style show for the past 15 years. In Variety, he shared that, like the documentary, the musical will follow "this young kid from Canada who left home and got lucky, experienced the American dream at 15, and went from there."

The HBO Original documentary Paul Anka: My Way, directed and produced by Emmy-winning filmmaker John Maggio, is now streaming on HBO Max. Featuring archival performances of Anka’s songs by genre-spanning music legends, including Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, and more, the film follows Anka as he performs around the world and chronicles his journey from his childhood in Ottawa, Canada to becoming a global musical sensation. 

Anka has over 500 songs to his credit, including “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” “My Way,” and the famous theme from “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He is the only artist in history to have a song in the Billboard Top 100 during seven separate decades.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff