A New Musical Celebrating the Life of Muhammad Ali is in Development for Broadway
ALI, a new musical celebrating the life and legacy of the heavyweight boxing champion and humanitarian Muhammad Ali is being developed for Broadway. The news was announced today by lead producer Richard Willis.
ALI will be directed and written by Clint Dyer (Deputy Artistic Director of the National Theatre, Olivier Award-nominated Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Death of England/Death of England: Delroy), with music by Teddy Abrams (youngest Musical Director to lead a major American Orchestra, Musical America’s Conductor of the Year Award for 2022).
ALI will be produced by Richard Willis, Brook T. Smith and TheTribecaWorkshop in collaboration with ABG Entertainment in partnership with Lonnie Ali. In telling Muhammad Ali’s story, ALI will utilize the musical theatre medium to explore the life of the man who overcame tremendous odds to become the G.O.A.T and who used his platform to become one of the most influential and inclusive civil rights leaders the world may ever know.
“Muhammad has been a muse and continues to be a source of inspiration to so many artists around the world,” said Lonnie Ali. “I’m so proud to support this project and am thrilled to see his story brought to life on the Broadway stage.”
Deemed “The Greatest of All Time,” Ali was born in 1942 and raised during the early years of television and the American dream. His childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, along with the love and devotion from his mother (and later from his wife Lonnie), set the stage for him to become not only the greatest boxer of all time, as well as an activist, entertainer, artist, and philanthropist. Ali’s combination of courage, confidence, swagger, compassion, humor, and optimism united people during The American Civil Rights Movement and his vision for a world without hate inspired generations of activists who continue to inspire today’s generation.
“Over the course of his life, Muhammad fought for justice and humanity, and all along the way he disarmed the world with his humor, generosity, and gentle ways. We are thrilled to partner with the incredibly talented Richard Willis, Brook T. Smith, and TheTribecaWorkshop to bring Ali’s story to Broadway,” said Dana Carpenter, EVP, ABG Entertainment.
Richard Willis said “It is very humbling, being granted this opportunity to tell Muhammad Ali’s complex and incredibly powerful story on stage with two of the most gifted artists working today, Clint Dyer and Teddy Abrams, and we look forward to announcing our additional world-class creative team members soon. Ali’s examples of grace, passion, strength of spirit, cool under fire, and smiling through it all, has been a great model for millions to aspire to live by, myself included. We are excited to honor Ali’s life and legacy theatrically; it makes for an extraordinarily entertaining and impactful new musical for the world to enjoy.”
Clint Dyer added “This can only be described as a dream come true for me. The chance to articulate in this medium what he represents to me, and millions across the world, is thrilling.”
Teddy Abrams said “I began exploring Ali’s life in 2016 when I wrote a multimedia rap-oratorio about his life. In that process, I recognized that Ali’s journey from fighter to humanitarian reflected the personal and global conflicts and contradictions of the human condition, and through his lens, I better understood persistent and fundamental issues, and the continued need to strive for peace and equality. Ali deserves the epic, dramatic treatment of a full-scale musical, enshrining his legend and teachings for his fans as well as new generations to come. I am thrilled and honored to work with such an exceptional, world-class team to create this new work!"
ALI will play a US pre-Broadway engagement (details to be announced).
Casting and additional creative team members will be announced soon. For more information, visit thealimusical.com
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