Listed here are excerpts from “‘The Tougher They Come’: Contained in the Stage Musical Adaptation of the Film That Launched Reggae to the World” by Nacey Watson Johnson (Billboard). The play is at present in previews at The Public Theater in New York Metropolis, opening March 15, 2023. [Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.]
Reggae brings vivid pictures to thoughts. Stripes in crimson, gold, black and inexperienced. Solar-kissed palms lining shores of the Caribbean Sea. Bob Marley’s dreads shaking to the beat.
Much less frequent is that of Jimmy Cliff in a slouched mustard cap, brandishing a gun in every hand, with all the sleek cool of Shaft meets John Wayne. That iconic, hand-drawn picture graced the poster for Perry Henzell’s 1972 movie The Tougher They Come starring Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican singer-actor who additionally carried out half of the hit soundtrack. Arriving earlier than Marley turned a global phenomenon, The Tougher They Come is broadly credited with introducing reggae to international listeners.
It was additionally Jamaica’s first characteristic movie, launched a decade after the nation’s independence from the U.Okay. Fifty years later, on the golden anniversary of its New York launch, The Tougher They Come formally opens on March 15 as an off-Broadway musical stage adaptation at The Public Theater in New York Metropolis (the present is at present in previews). Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks pens the e book; Tony Award nominee Tony Taccone directs; Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo co-directs; Kenny Seymour is the music supervisor; and choreography comes from Edgar Godineaux.
In step with the movie, The Tougher They Come tells the story of aspiring singer, Ivanhoe Martin, with Natey Jones enjoying Cliff’s unique position. A rural fish-out-of-water who arrives in Kingston keen to comprehend starlit desires, he falls in love and manages to chop a report, however finds his ambitions thwarted by gatekeepers and rigged programs. Ivan relentlessly fights to say company over his personal existence, changing into each outlaw and native hero within the course of. His report ascends to anthem standing, a rallying cry of uplift that sweeps the island.
The unique soundtrack’s reception mirrored the movie’s plot, altering the soundscape of worldwide music by popularizing the vigorous percussion, upbeat skank stroke and the hypnotic 4/4 tempo present in reggae. Its sonic and cultural affect spans a long time and genres—influencing everybody from DJ Kool Herc to The Rolling Stones to Maroon 5 to Beyoncé.
Reflection upon these layers of legacy and relevance had been on the coronary heart of this adaptation. “It’s about the fitting for somebody to sing their track,” says Parks. “It’s such an essential movie to world tradition, and to the folks of Jamaica. So we got here with respect. We’re not reinventing the wheel, however we’re rolling the wheel ahead.”
The play flushes out the movie’s minor and supporting characters, giving nuanced and elevated concerns to everybody’s tales. Elsa, Ivan’s love curiosity performed by Meecah, is given her personal songs. Ivan’s mom, Daisy, who initially appeared in a single scene, has a show-length arc witnessing Ivan’s journey. The policeman with whom Ivan is available in deadly contact is mourned on stage. “The capturing is an accident. We don’t glorify that beat within the present. Ivan is the hero, however there may be a couple of. Everybody has a perspective that’s attention-grabbing and price listening to,” Parks notes.
This philosophy of multiplicity, that numerous views are value showcasing and reexamining, resounds within the setlist as properly. Followers of the unique soundtrack will hear all of the acquainted favorites, however in a brand new order and with extra music stitched in. “Many Rivers to Cross,” for instance, is deftly shifted to an emotional and climactic second. Repurposed gospel hymns heighten the narrative—similar to Ivan and Elsa falling in like to “Simply A Nearer Stroll With Thee.” [. . .]
Reggae has its personal historical past inside Jamaican music. Ska developed first within the Nineteen Fifties combining mento, calypso, jazz and rhythm and blues. Rocksteady then dominated Jamaica’s dance scene of the mid-Nineteen Sixties. All three dynamic kinds are celebrated in The Tougher They Come, with Seymour highlighting devices just like the bubble organ and reggae’s famed bass guitar. “They every have nuances and intricacies. Approaching this piece, in the beginning, was about sustaining the musical and cultural integrity,” Seymour affirms.
Although the present takes place within the ’70s, modern beats are additionally woven into the manufacturing’s sound. Says Seymour, “Every part from dancehall to dub is part of the reggae Jamaican tradition. All of them play an element, and the place they’re launched may be very slick. There will probably be one thing for everyone. Chatting with right now’s viewers, that is going to spark previous reminiscences and make new ones.” [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-harder-they-come-musical-play-stage-1235281865
[Photo above by Joan Marcus: Natey Jones in the world premiere musical The Harder They Come, with book and additional new songs by Suzan-Lori Parks, songs by Jimmy Cliff, co-direction by Sergio Trujillo, and direction by Tony Taccone, at The Public Theater.]
Additionally see https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2223/the-harder-they-come and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0noTV42SLTc from The Public Theater New York, 425 Lafayette Avenue, New York, NY 10003.
Additionally see earlier posts https://repeatingislands.com/2023/02/13/the-harder-they-come-musical-at-the-public-theater and https://repeatingislands.com/2023/02/13/the-harder-they-come-was-a-heros-journey-set-to-reggae-its-about-to-become-a-new-musical