LONDON, England – A stage musical of The Harder They Come is scheduled to open on September 13 at the Stratford East Theatre in London, England. The re-imaged production is written by Suzan-Lori Parks. She is an American Pulitzer Prize winner.
Matthew Xia from the United Kingdom directs it. His father is Jamaican. The musical features songs by Parks. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama in 2002 for his play, Topdog/Underdog.
Justine Henzell, whose father Perry Henzell directed and co-wrote The Harder They Come, said the musical proves the timelessness of that 1972 movie which starred Jimmy Cliff as Ivan.
“It is thrilling to see how one great work of art like the original film can spawn new great works like this musical and give new talent an opportunity to shine,” she told South Florida Caribbean News. “There is a generation who isn’t aware of how reggae reached the world, (so) this is a chance to show the roots that sprung from 1970s Jamaica and branched across the globe and to celebrate that achievement.”
The musical will make its UK debut soon. It first showed at The Public Theater in Manhattan, New York, two years ago. Natey Jones, who is from London, plays Ivan. He also appeared in Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical.
Perry Henzell, a white Jamaican, based The Harder They Come on the exploits of Ivanhoe “Rhyging” Martin. Martin was a gunman who terrorized parts of Kingston during the late 1940s. Cliff’s Ivan, an aspiring singer, travels to Kingston looking to break into the music business but finds it rife with corruption.
The movie’s raw depiction of urban life in the Jamaican capital made it a global sensation. It was especially popular in the UK and on the United States East and West coasts. Its soundtrack, built around songs by Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Toots and The Maytals, and The Melodians, helped introduce reggae to pop fans.
