When you grow up, things that used to taste yucky begin to taste good. Bourbon. Limburger cheese. Broadway musicals. Maybe that explains why more and more aging rockers are taking Pete Townshend's cue and embracing their erstwhile enemy -- the Great White Way. While Madonna swoons and croons in the screen version of Evita, Paul Simon is steering his trouble-plagued The Capeman to its New York debut, Jimmy Buffett is writing a sun-soaked musical for Broadway, and the Bee Gees are polishing their platform shoes for a London stage remake of Saturday Night Fever. Meanwhile, Broadway loves to prop up its sagging fortunes by co-opting pivotal trends in youth culture. (Witness Rent.) The result? Suddenly the music that used to piss off your parents is pacifying your grandparents. With that in mind, can these baby-boom barn burners be far behind?
-- The Eagles' Hotel California: The Musical! Plot: A fresh-faced country boy (''New Kid in Town'') moves to the glittery, coke-sniffing shores of California (''Life in the Fast Lane'') and discovers that ''you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.'' Love theme: Long-suffering corn-fed girlfriend croons ''Try and Love Again.'' Showstoppers: Giant roach clip descends from the sky; high-kicking chorus line of sarcastic bellhops. Special '70s guest stars: General Hospital's Luke and Laura reprise their romantic chemistry.
-- The Sex Pistols' Great Rock & Roll Swindle: The Musical! Plot: A pack of foul, wisecracking punks terrorize the record biz (''EMI'') and the monarchy (''God Save the Queen'') while taking London for a wild ride (''Anarchy in the U.K.''). Love theme: Sid Vicious serenades girlfriend Nancy Spungen with a poignant rendition of ''My Way.'' Showstopper: During ''Friggin' in the Riggin','' a high-kicking chorus line of safety-pinned, combat-booted skinheads showers audience with spit. Special '70s guest stars: Laverne & Shirley's Lenny and Squiggy as Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious.
-- Curtis Mayfield's Superfly: The Musical! Plot: A chic, lovable drug dealer (''Pusherman'') dodges corrupt cops in the ghetto and dreams of going straight in Broadway's first foray into blaxploitation. Love theme: ''Give Me Your Love,'' natch. Showstoppers: During ''Freddie's Dead,'' Freddie ascends to heaven in a giant white Cadillac; ''Junkie Chase'' accompanied by a dazzling ''graffiti ballet.'' Special '70s guest stars: The entire casts of Good Times and What's Happening!!


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