This is Benjamin, and he’s a little worried about his future.

A young man set to graduate is trying to find his way in a chaotic and obtuse world. For answers, he sleeps with family friend Mrs. Robinson and her daughter Elaine.

Now that sounds like a great way to start the rest of your life.

“The Graduate,” which debuted in 1967, will take off today on Broadway.

Kathleen Turner will play Mrs. Robinson (played by Anne Bancroft in the original “The Graduate”). Jason Biggs takes on the role of Benjamin (originally played by Dustin Hoffman) and Alicia Silverstone plays Elaine Robinson (originally Katharine Ross). This sexcapade will pull from the classic film as well as the original novel by Charles Webb.

Junior theater major Aaron Fowles likes the cast for the Broadway version of the film.

“Who doesn’t want to see the ‘American Pie’ guy on a live stage?” Fowles said. He added that the movie’s success should put people in theater seats.

“I think that people who saw the film back when it debuted will want to see it again live,” Fowles said.

“The Graduate” is not the first film that’s been turned into a play or musical.

Jeffrey Chown, an NIU communication professor and film buff, has watched as several films have found outstanding success via the transition from the big screen to the big stage.

“[‘Sunset Boulevard’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’] are the first two that come to mind,” Chown said. “Andrew Lloyd Weber was behind the trend.”

Chown was in New York a week ago and said there was quite a buzz going around about the production.

“They are saying that the Broadway version is closer to the novel and Turner will be doing a nude scene,” Chown said.

Tickets will run between $41.25 and $76.25. Chown had expressed interest in seeing it, as had Fowles.

“Assuming I had the money, I would go, but with those prices for tickets that is a big assumption,” Fowles said.

Tickets continue to sell rapidly, and agency prices for sold-out shows could run into the hundreds.

The reason for this is the outstanding cast featured, Fowles said. Chown agreed.

“I haven’t seen too much of Biggs, but Turner is quite an accomplished actress and Silverstone seems appropriately superficial for the role of Elaine,” Chown said.

But there can be a big difference between acting on a set before a camera and standing on a stage before an audience.

Fowles said sometimes the casting is on appeal and not acting skills.

“It could be a marketing decision in the cast,” Fowles said. “There is an immense difference in the nuances of stage acting versus film acting and people like Silverstone may struggle.”

At least we will have the answer to the age-old question of whether Alicia Silverstone can act her way out of a paper bag.

Whether “The Graduate” takes in the sweet smell of success still remains to be seen. But whether there is a flop or a triumph, people will have their peepers on “The Graduate.”