Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, the play-turned cult classic film that marked Cher's Broadway debut, is becoming a musical!
Produced by Tony winning theatre company TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, the world premiere of the musical, called 5 & Dime, will play California's Bay Area next summer, beginning performances June 18, 2025 for a run through July 13. Opening night will be June 21.
Set in a ramshackle Texas town in the 1970s, 5 & Dime follows a group of friends as they celebrate the 20th reunion of their James Dean fan club. As they look back on their younger days, a familiar stranger threatens to uncover deep-seated truths about family, community, and forging your own path.
In 1982, Robert Altman directed both the Broadway production of Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, and a film adaptation of the same name, which has become a cult classic. Both starred Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Kathy Bates, and Mark Patton.
The musical features a book by Ashley Robinson (Brokeback Mountain, Fall of “94), music by Dan Gillespie Sells (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Brokeback Mountain), and lyrics by Shakina (Transparent, Quantum Leap), adapted from the original play by Ed Graczyk.
“It’s an honor to be revisiting this canonical piece of American theater with my collaborators, and to be giving these iconic women new voice in song," shared Shakina. "All of the relationships are so rich and complex, and the role of Joanne is arguably our first trans leading lady of Broadway, so it feels right that she should finally be brought to life by a trans woman who has helped lead the movement for trans representation on Broadway and beyond.”
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorks’s Artistic Director, casting for the production will be released at a later date.
The world premiere is part of the California company's recently revealed 2024-2025 season, which also includes production of Rajiv Joseph's King James, Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Hershey Felder: Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical, and Lloyd Suh's The Heart Sellers.
For more information, visit TheatreWorks.org.
