A musical adaptation of “Black Orpheus,” a take on the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, is making plans for a 2023 Broadway run.
The musical, produced by Stephen Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, will feature a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nilo Cruz and original music by Grammy-Award winning Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes. It will be directed by Sergio Trujilo, choreographer of “Ain’t Too Proud” and “On Your Feet!”
The production is planning a developmental workshop and an out-of-town run in 2022, before heading to Broadway. Plans for the Broadway-bound adaptation were originally announced in 2014, with Lynn Nottage as the book writer and George C. Wolfe as the director.
The stage adaptation of “Black Orpheus” is based on the 1956 play by Orfeu de Conceição, which was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. The story resets the Greek myth, which is also the subject matter at the heart of current Broadway production “Hadestown,” in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival.
The musical score will also include the bossa nova music from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, and Vinicius de Moraes that was featured in the film.
