The story of Soul Train is currently being revisited in the BET series, American Soul. The musical dance program, which was created from 1971 to 2006, was created by Don Cornelius, who served as its host and executive producer. Now, the musical show is going thorough another rebirth on the Broadway stage.
In an announcement made this week, Soul Train will be made into a musical that will premiere on Broadway in 2021.
Tony-nominated playwright Dominique Morisseau, who wrote the Broadway play Ain’t Too Proud, will write the musical. Kamilah Forbes will direct, while Camille A. Brown will choreograph. Questlove is an executive producer. The musical will be produced by the trio of Matthew Weaver, Jeffrey Tick and Richard Gay.
According to Deadline, “The musical will feature more than 20 hit songs from the era while telling the personal story of Cornelius as he creates the television series. The series became TV’s primary showcase for soul, rock, R&B and, later, hip-hop. Nearly as popular as the stage acts was the in-studio audience, who taught the nation the latest dances. Cornelius ended each episode with his catchphrase “love, peace and soul.”
“Having grown up on this series and being immersed in the culture around it, I never knew what it took to make it the iconic staple that it is,” Morisseau said in a statement. “Through the socio-political challenges both internally and externally, Don Cornelius’ uncompromised vision, and the revolutionary dance culture that the show made visible to the mainstream, there are a million handprints on what we know as Soul Train.”
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Photo: Getty Images/ 2001 Tribune Entertainment
