‘Dan the Musical’? Next stop, Broadway? Inside peek at Le Batard Show’s odd, ambitious new project
In the South Beach studios of the Miami-based Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz — the same room where ESPN’s “Highly Questionable” TV show once was produced, Atlantic ocean the backdrop — there is a hand-drawn sign that jokingly reads “professional recording studio,” with an arrow on it.
It points to a far corner of the room, where, behind makeshift cardboard walls, is an area slightly smaller than a cruise ship bathroom. There is a mic stand. This is where the magic happens. Or the ridiculousness, as the case may be.
The Le Batard Show is producing a musical.
You read that right.
“It’s a super ambitious attempt to make a tried and true musical,” says the show’s executive producer, Mike Ryan Ruiz. “It’s a Herculean lift.”
Next stop, Broadway? Nope. For your ears only. The musical, called “The Big Game” and about the NFL season just past, is audio only. It will be out first as a Le Batard Show podcast (with a targeted week of Feb. 28 release date), and then be available as an album that may be streamed on Spotify and other outlets.
The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz is among the most popular podcasts in America — ranked No. 1 nationally by Apple podcasts Wednesday among all sports shows.
The notion of a musical began as a joke among the show’s cast but bloomed in the petri dish of creativity amid a pinball of ideas.
JT Daly, a Nashville-based musician, songwriter and producer and a two-time Grammy nominee, is in Miami producing the musical. As a big fan of the show, which he calls “the John Oliver of sports,” he refers to the musical as “a passion project” for him.
The musical will feature 11 songs pieced together to tell a story, involving all members of the show including Dan, Stugotz and the Shipping Container. The original music written by Daly will span all genres, says Ryan, “from rock to R&B to opera.”
My contribution is a jazzy song called “Back In My Day,”which I recorded in the cardboard studio this week, with hopes Daly’s expertise will make my voice sound somewhat presentable.
“I cant wait to hear Greg Cote sing and cough,” Le Batard said.
Others in the Le Batard universe with a role in the musical include Kate Fagan, Amin Elhassan, Tom Haberstroh and Juju Gotti.
“I am driving through Miami traffic way too early in the morning to a cardboard studio and I haven’t felt this alive in awhile,” Daly says. He describes the project as “a spoof, a musical with a wink. But it very much tells a story. Sometimes it’s so honest and real that you can laugh at it. Definitely some sobering moments but balanced by comedy.”
This latest, one-of-a-kind project continues a wild past couple of years for the Le Batard Show.
The show parted from ESPN in January 2021 and Le Batard soon after partnered with former ESPN president John Skipper to form Meadowlark Media, a content company with the top-rated Dan Le Bayard Show With Stugotz its flagship entity.
Last June the show entered into a $50 million deal with DraftKings, the daily fantasy sports and sports betting company, celebrating the partnership with as 24-hour marathon dubbed “Freedumb.”
Now, a musical — the Le Batard Show’s most ambitious undertaking and biggest collaborative show of talent since the 24-hour marathon. It also is a nod to the the important role music including parody songs have played in the show’s history.
Says Daly: “We are trying to capture the show perfectly.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 11:51 AM.
