Singer Paul Anka is pictured in a Toronto hotel room as he promotes his book "My Way" on Tuesday April 16, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Paul Anka’s sights are set on Broadway.
The 83-year-old Ottawa-born singer says plans to adapt his life story into a stage musical are finally getting traction after years of work behind the scenes.
While he declined to delve into the details, he says the show would retrace his rise from teen pop idol to forays with the Rat Pack where he served as songwriter on Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” before racking up his own solo hits, including “Diana.”
Songs like those would punctuate the “Jersey Boys”-style musical in which two actors would play Anka – as a teenager and an adult.
Anka first hinted at plans for a musical centred on his life more than 15 years ago, but he says Broadway has become a tougher business in recent years.
He will attend the Toronto International Film Festival with the documentary “Paul Anka: His Way,” which makes its world premiere Tuesday with additional showings on Wednesday and Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.
