Adam Schlesinger to Get His Own Musical After 2020 Death From Covid-19

A jukebox musical based on the songs of Adam Schlesinger will play at this year’s Adirondack Theatre Festival, August 5th through 14th.

Titled Traffic & Weather, after the 2007 album from Schlesinger’s band Fountains of Wayne, the stage performance will feature the work of the late musician to tell a meet-cute story of two people falling in love.

Broadway director and ATF co-founder Martha Banta credits the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic — the same pandemic that tragically took Schlesinger’s life — with what would eventually become Traffic & Weather. In the wake of his death, while quarantined upstate, Banta was listening to Fountains of Wayne when she came up with the idea for a musical as a tribute to Schlesinger.

“You really don’t have to be knowledgeable about Adam or his work to enjoy this show,” Banta says. “He was an amazing contemporary storyteller and his humor and astute observations really shine through on these great pop songs. Those who are unfamiliar with his songwriting canon will leave the Wood Theater eager to discover more of his work. Plus the acting, dancing, and production elements are so fun.”

Tickets for Traffic & Weather are available now at the Adirondack Theatre Festival website.