Deleted Ice Scene in ‘Almost Famous’ Inspired a New Duet for the Broadway Musical

Almost Famous is so beloved that even its deleted scenes are widely known — from Frances McDormand cringing to “Stairway to Heaven” to the radio station scene with Kyle Gass. Now, lines from the intimate ice cube scene with Penny Lane and Russell Hammond are being used in a duet for the upcoming Broadway adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s film.

The scene that didn’t make it into the movie takes place after Stillwater lead a group singalong of Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air,” while Anna Paquin’s Polexia Aphrodisia secretly describes Penny and Russell’s three-act play of hookups to William Miller. The couple meet at an ice machine in the dark, with Russell (Billy Crudup) dropping cubes in his glass as he simultaneously drops what he loves about Penny (Kate Hudson). “The way you turn a hotel into a home….the way you pick up strays wherever you go…”

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These lines are now featured in “The Night-Time Sky’s Got Nothing on You,” the new single from the upcoming musical released on Friday. As Russell, Chris Wood sings to Penny (Solea Pfeiffer) and adoringly tells her, “The way you know the words to every song — every song, especially the bad ones.”

The duet follows the previous song “Everybody’s Coming Together,” released earlier this summer. The adaptation to Crowe’s 2000 film was first announced in 2018, and opened the following year in his hometown of San Diego. After being stalled by the pandemic, it will finally debut on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Nov. 3, with previews beginning on Oct. 3. Tickets are on sale now.

Jeremy Herrin directed the show, with original music by Tom Kitt. Crowe adapted his Oscar-winning screenplay to the book and co-wrote the lyrics with Kitt. “The line ‘It’s all happening’ has always been so key to the show, and now that we’re heading to Broadway, it’s finally come true,” Crowe recently told Rolling Stone. “It actually is… all happening.”

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