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Kalan Hooks, ESPNSep 9, 2024, 10:00 AM ET
Eli and Peyton Manning asked their father, Archie Manning, whether he had any ideas for the fourth season of their “Monday Night Football” broadcast, the ManningCast.
“Yeah, I have an idea. Tony,” Archie told them.
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Archie wasn’t talking about former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. He was telling his sons they should take a shot at trying to win a Tony Award, which honors Broadway’s best plays, musicals and performances.
Peyton immediately gave Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger a phone call with a proposal.
“Eli and I are going to try to win a Tony Award. Can you just get us a theater? Give us one night and we’ll prove we can be Broadway stars,” Peyton told Iger.
The Mannings’ viral video promoting “ManningCast, the Musical,” features over 40 cameos, including performances from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, actor Kevin Hart and rapper Snoop Dogg. It also includes appearances from active NFL players such as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.
It includes five numbers: “The Big Idea,” “Misters Manning,” “Quarter-Zips,” “Seasons of Football” and a grand finale.
Eli and Peyton Manning filled in ESPN on their Broadway experience.
The ManningCast has been successful the past few seasons. How did the idea of creating a musical to promote this season come about?
Peyton: The last few years we’ve produced videos to promote each new ManningCast season. Two years ago, after I did an “Emily in Paris” bit on SNL, we did a video with Lily Collins. Last year we did a video where players, coaches and celebrities auditioned to be the third host of the show. That was a lot of fun, so we wanted to see if we could do something similar but bigger.
Eli: It turned out that bigger meant singing and dancing and wearing sequined quarter-zips.
Which number of the musical stood out to you the most, and why?
Peyton: The grand finale. That song was created for us by Tom Kitt, an actual Broadway composer. There was singing, dancing, choreographed kicks, pyrotechnics — and that was before the lights went out. It was probably the most complicated play I’ve ever run.
Eli: The grand finale was a huge challenge and a ton of fun. But it’s also hard to beat getting Snoop to rap for us about the power of quarter-zips. He and I have the same sense of style, and it was nice to sing about it.
What’s your most memorable moment while being on set?
Peyton: The whole day was a blur because E and I did our whole performance from start to finish in four hours. But we definitely had a lot of fun in the scene where we tap danced together. Most of the numbers in the musical were pretty heavily choreographed, but for the tap dancing we were on our own so it was really nice to see how bad Eli was without clear direction.
Peyton and Eli tap danced together during a scene in the ManningCast musical. Courtesy of Omaha Productions
Eli: For me it was showing up, getting into costume and then walking on stage and seeing all the set pieces and all the other performers prepped and ready to go. It was like: “OK, I guess we’re really doing a musical!”
You guys harmonized pretty well on the songs. Did you take any singing lessons leading up to the production?
Peyton: Does being in my school musical in seventh grade count?
Eli: I sing in the car sometimes and I’m pretty sure I sound great. No lessons needed.
Could we see a music career or acting career from you in the future?
Peyton: We hate to let you down, but I think we’re going to stick to the ManningCast.
Eli: Hey, if the people at the Tony Awards want to help us achieve our goal by giving us a Tony, we’ll consider taking the show on the road. But outside of that, it’s ManningCast season.
The musical had an all-star cast. Besides Bill Belichick, does the musical give ManningCast fans a sneak peek at who will make an appearance this season?
Peyton: We tried to have a mix of cameos, including people who have been on the show in the past or are playing on the ManningCast this season. For example, we have two Buccaneers games this season, so during those games we will definitely show clips of Baker Mayfield dancing while dressed as a giant football. That’s just Football Analysis 101.
John Harbaugh, Ja’Marr Chase and Baker Mayfield are among many members of the NFL to appear in the ManningCast musical. Courtesy of Omaha Productions
Eli: If Baker would play while dressed in the football costume, that would be great cross-promotion for us, but so far he hasn’t committed to the bit. I’ll keep texting him about it, though.
How did the active coaches and players react to being in the musical? Was it funny seeing them in a setting outside of the gridiron?
Peyton: When we told them we were doing a musical, we definitely got some “You’re doing a what now?!” responses. But the players and coaches are always so generous with their time and willing to work with us. I think they know that we are just trying to make something fun and of high quality and not embarrass anybody.
Eli: Well, not embarrass anybody but ourselves.
Belichick is known for being, well … intense. What kind of energy did he bring to the musical? How did you get him to agree to participate?
Peyton: Look, we’re just so happy and honored to have Coach Belichick come on the ManningCast every game this season that we didn’t want to push our luck by asking him to sing or dance. So we just decided to make him the fun reveal at the end of the musical, and it worked perfectly.
Eli: I assume Coach Belichick already dislikes me because of the Super Bowls, so I offered to be the one to ask him to dance for us. But Peyton told me it was a bad idea.
Could we expect to see some of your theatrical features during the ManningCasts this season?
Peyton: Now that football season is here, we’re going to put away the sequins, top hats and tap shoes and just focus on the games.
Eli: Well, I might still wear my tap shoes, but you won’t be able to see them on camera.
Students from the University of Colorado’s theater department played roles. How was it working with those students and what tips did you learn from them?
Peyton: The students were absolutely incredible and so were the professors who did all the choreography. At one point in the show, there is a kickline with some pretty intricate footwork and they were all very patient with us as we figured it out, encouraging us the whole time. I would say most football coaches aren’t quite so patient if you keep messing up the play over and over.
Eli: My footwork was perfect the whole time. Thankfully, Peyton eventually got his act together.
