Bill Murray with the cast of the Broadway musical “Groundhog Day”; Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — Bill Murray was so impressed with the Broadway musical rendition of his hit film “Groundhog Day,” he was moved to tears when he saw it for the first time Tuesday night.
Murray, 66, starred in the 1993 film, which follows egotistical TV weatherman Phil Connors as he relives the same day over and over again, learning in the process to be more caring and compassionate.
Murray showed up with fellow cast members Danny Rubin, who co-wrote the screenplay and the book for the musical, and his brother, actor Brian Doyle-Murray, to check out the hit show. Sopan Deb documented the night for The New York Times.
I am here at the August Wilson Theatre, where Bill Murray is about to watch the Groundhog Day musical for the first time. Dead serious.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 8, 2017
Inside the August Wilson Theatre, Murray was all smiles, even posing for pictures with fans attending the performance.
Bill now being mobbed by fans in the theater. He just advised an 11 year old girl on crutches: “Do the rehab.”
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 9, 2017
The acclaimed actor also gave a classic inspirational speech to the Broadway cast.
“As actors, I can’t respect enough how disciplined you are and how, how serving you are of the process,” he said. “You’re creating something that’s very different. There’s something that’s higher and finer than an ordinary show.”
Murray also received a round of applause from the crowd.
It’s intermission. Murray let out a fist pump during the show when Phil Connors meets Ned Ryerson for the first time.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 9, 2017
“[B]y the end of the performance, Mr. Murray was visibly sobbing,” wrote Deb for the New York Times. He added that during his interview with Murray, the actor said the late director and actor Harold Ramis “would’ve been flabbergasted by the musical.”
“The idea that we just have to try again. We just have to try again,” Murray told the Times. “It’s such a beautiful, powerful idea.”
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