VIDEO: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Announces ‘Dare to Be Stupid’ Broadway Musical and Performs ‘Yoda’ Live on the Stern Show
Parody icon and five-time Grammy winner sits down with Howard for a career retrospective—and a major career update.
May 12, 2026
For over forty years, “Weird Al” Yankovic has been a permanent fixture of the Billboard charts, outlasting most of the artists he has parodied. He belongs to a rarefied air of pop-culture permanence, standing alongside only Michael Jackson and Madonna as the only acts to notch Top 40 hits in every decade since the ‘80s. Joined by his longtime band on Tuesday morning to promote their Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour and put on a mini-concert for Howard and his listeners, the hilariously accomplished singer, songwriter, and accordion player discussed his four decades in the spotlight, broke news regarding a potential move to Broadway, and performed his classic parody, “Yoda.”
While Yankovic is the undisputed master of the genre, he was quick to tell Howard that the work involves more than just a quick joke. “It’s not hard to write a song parody at all. It’s hard to write a good song parody. It’s hard to write one that’s clever and that people want to listen to more than once,” Weird Al explained. Even after decades of global success, he remains dedicated to the fine details of his songwriting. “After years of honing my craft, I like to think my lyrics have gotten better.”
The conversation inevitably turned to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where Weird Al remains a perennial snub. “It’d be nice,” Weird Al said of the prospect of one-day being inducted. “I don’t lose any sleep over it. I kind of think that I’m never gonna be on their short list.” Rather than focusing on the exclusion, Weird Al finds value in the fan-led movement to get him to Cleveland. “I’d rather have that than have people going like, ‘How come he’s in the Rock Hall? Who let this idiot in?’”
If the call ever does come, Weird Al already knows who he wants at the podium. “Gosh. Well, it feels like Dr. Demento should do it, if anybody,” he told Howard. It would be a poetic, full-circle moment considering Dr. Demento, the legendary radio host born Barret Hansen, effectively launched Weird Al’s career in the late 1970s. Pointing to the soap opera star who became famous for her long-running Emmy snub, Weird Al noted there is also certain power in the wait. “Susan Lucci, yeah, she was the one. She got a lot more buzz out of being the one that never got in than after she got in.”
In a major Stern Show exclusive, Howard’s guest also revealed a musical is officially in the works. “We are developing a Weird Al jukebox Broadway musical. The working title is ‘Dare to Be Stupid: The Weird Al Musical,’ featuring of course songs from my catalog,” he announced, explaining the project is being penned by Scott Brown and Anthony King of “Beetlejuice” the musical fame.
While Weird Al doesn’t plan to star in the show, he didn’t rule out a future cameo. “Who knows? You never know,” he teased.
Weird Al also recounted a bold dating strategy from his bachelor days involving the beloved 1988 comedy “The Naked Gun.” Despite being a featured performer in the movie, Weird Al would take first dates to see it without mentioning he was in the cast. To complete the effect, Weird Al revealed, “I wore the exact same shirt that I’m wearing in the movie … and they would flip out.”
The conversation turned sentimental when discussing his wife, Suzanne. The couple fell in love over late-night phone calls in the ’90s before ever meeting in person. “By the time we finally had our first date I was sort of like, ‘I kind of hope she’s at least somewhat attractive because I think I’m going to marry her,’” Weird Al recalled. “Honestly, I would’ve married her even if she was some horrible troll, but as it turns out she’s a bombshell, so I lucked out.”
To close the morning, Weird Al and his band—including longtime drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz—brought the studio to life with a spirited performance of “Yoda.” As Weird Al explained to Howard, the fan-favorite “Star Wars” parody remained unreleased for years because he couldn’t get permission to release it from “Lola” songwriter Ray Davies. All that changed when he ran into the Kinks frontman in the hallways of Howard’s studio. “I met him in the hallway of the Howard Stern Show and got permission there,” Weird Al told Howard, explaining that the song finally appeared on his classic 1985 album “Dare to Be Stupid.” “So, thank you for making it happen.”
See “Weird Al” Yankovic on his “Bigger & Weirder” 2026 Tour, kicking off May 26. Howard Stern Presents: Weird Al debuts Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. on Howard 101.
