Here's a doozy: Bill Murray is going classical.
The actor and comedian who never ceases to surprise has, according to the New York Times, teamed up with cellist Jan Vogler, who has performed as a guest artist with the New York Philharmonic, and a group of chamber musicians for a projected album and touring show. Murray will sing Gershwin and Bernstein and recite Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Ernest Hemingway.
The program of songs and literary readings called New Worlds "will explore themes of American history and identity," according to the Times. The show will certainly have some humor, but a serious side, too—which actually shouldn't be too surprising.
There was always more going on than meets the eye with Murray. After initial film comedies such as Caddyshack and Stripes, he reportedly agreed to do Ghostbusters only if he could play the lead in a film version of W. Somerset Maugham's philosophical novel "The Razor's Edge."
Later successful films starring Murray like Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation are worth a close look for the themes and ideas they present.
We'll see what Murray comes up with next, but in the meantime I'm looking forward to New Worlds.