Look out, Peter Pan. There’s another live musical coming to NBC before the end of the year. The Today Show Fourth Hour co-host and one-time Broadway lyricist Kathie Lee Gifford announced on air on August 1 that she has written an 18-minute musical, to be broadcast live and to feature Today’s anchors and crew.
The daytime extravaganza, titled Not Today and Tomorrow’s Not Looking Good Either, will feature music written by Gifford and her collaborator, Broadway composer and musical director David Friedman. Gifford also announced that her co-anchor for the day, Regis Philbin (who was in for Hoda Kotb), would make an appearance in the televised production.
“When the producers came to me last January…I said ‘what?! It’s going to be a disaster!’" Gifford said. "They said, ‘That’s why we want you.’ I have a little experience in disasters on Broadway,” she joked, referencing the short-lived 2012 musical Scandalous, which she penned with Friedman and David Pomeranz.
A regular segment on Today, Everyone Has a Story, features songs, inspired by the accounts of ordinary people, with lyrics by Gifford and music by Friedman. She also appeared in the Broadway revival of Putting It Together, stepping in for Carol Burnett at certain performances.
Take a look at the on-air announcement in the clip below.