According to Variety, the visionaries behind the O.C. musical we reported on earlier this year are back, and they’ve managed to add singing and dancing to another beloved TV show: Friday Night Lights. The team behind the production “recently got the legal go-ahead from NBC Universal,” so The Unauthorized Friday Night Lights Musical will officially premiere on some stage in L.A. at some unknown date in 2016. The show will then run for either a single night or a single weekend, presumably depending on whether or not the producers can convince audiences that it’s not really about football, it’s about a small town where football is a big deal.
This whole thing gets even better, though, because the Friday Night Lights musical will feature Scott Porter, one of the actual stars of the show, as its lead. Porter played local hero Jason Street, but in the musical he’ll take on Kyle Chandler’s role and be the endlessly inspirational Coach Taylor. That’s pretty much all we officially know about this production, but we would like to take this opportunity to present our pitch for what will surely be Coach Taylor’s big number, a song we’d like to call “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts.”
It goes a little something—dramatic pause—like this:
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose
Put on your pads and tie your shoes.
It’s Friday night and we’re ready to fight
So let’s get real and hit that field.
This show’s about football
But it’s not ABOUT football
It’s more about a town
Where people like football.
We’ve got Matt Saracen and Jason Street
And y’know Tim Riggins just can’t be beat.
Then there’s Smash and that’s pretty much it
But that’s all it takes to get to State.
Later on there was Luke Cafferty
And a guy played by Michael B.
Jordan, that is, his name was Vince.
And J.D. McCoy, he was kind of a jerk.
Matt Saracen lives with his grandmother
She’s old and he has to take care of her.
He’s got a thing for Julie Taylor
And his friend Landry is totally a murderer.
Now let’s talk to Tyra and Lyla
Your names are too similar, I dunno what to call ya.
One’s a brunette, the other a blonde
They don’t always get along.
But now it’s time for football, you see
Or how about Buddy Garrity?
And Tami Taylor, she was the best, y’all
She had a baby, we don’t remember her name at all.
We’ve got clear eyes and we’ve got full hearts
This game will be over before it even starts.
It’s Friday night and we’re ready to fight.
So let’s get real and hit that field.