Author Mitch Albom plans theatrical production about late Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell

Author Mitch Albom plans Harwell stage play

DETROIT — Best-selling author Mitch Albom is planning a stage play based on the life of the late Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell.

Albom said Thursday that the show called “Ernie” will premiere next year at the City Theatre in Detroit. Casting will begin in November.

Albom says Harwell’s “story transcends sports” and “is a rich and wonderful subject for the stage.” Harwell died in May at the age of 92, months after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bile duct.

Albom is an award-winning columnist with the Detroit Free Press and a radio show host who knew Harwell for 25 years. His plays include “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel” and “Tuesdays With Morrie,” which is based on Albom’s book of the same name.