Adrienne Warren is set to star in the upcoming Off Broadway musical adaptation of Imitation of Life, the Fannie Hurst novel that spawned two classic Hollywood films.
The musical features a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, an original score by EGOT winner John Legend, marking his first musical as a composer, and direction by two-time Tony nominee Whitney White, who takes over for previously announced director Liesl Tommy, now remaining on board as a producer.
First published in 1933, Hurst’s novel is set across 1920s Atlantic City and 1930s New York and follows two single mothers, one Black and one white, and their daughters as all four build a life together. A central conflict arises when Delilah’s daughter attempts to pass as white, with the musical taking on race, identity, motherhood, ambition and belonging.
Warren will play Delilah, the role originated on screen by Louise Beavers in the 1934 film and played by Juanita Moore in Douglas Sirk’s 1959 remake, where the character was renamed Annie.
The world premiere is set for a six-week limited engagement at The Griffin Theater at The Shed, with previews beginning November 21 and opening night set for December 3, running through January 3, 2027. The production is a co-production between The Shed, led by chief executive Meredith “Max” Hodges and artistic director Alex Poots, and National Black Theatre, led by chief executive Sade Lythcott and executive artistic director Jonathan McCrory.
The novel’s two prior film adaptations both left a mark on Hollywood history. The 1934 version, directed by John Stahl and starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 2005. The 1959 Douglas Sirk remake, starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, earned Moore and co-star Susan Kohner both Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, making Moore only the third Black woman ever nominated in the category.
Warren won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Tina, after originating the role in the West End and developing it alongside Turner herself. Her additional stage credits include The Wild Party at New York City Center Encores!, which earned her a Drama League Award nomination, Tony and Chita Rivera Award nominations for Shuffle Along opposite Audra McDonald, her Broadway debut in Bring It On: The Musical, Dreamgirls at the Apollo, The Wiz at New York City Center and a recent return to Broadway in the revival of Proof. On screen, she has appeared in Netflix’s The Diplomat, Hulu’s Black Cake, ABC’s Women of the Movement and the films Rustin and The Woman King, and she is set to appear in Season 4 of The Gilded Age. She is also a co-founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which received a special Tony Award in 2021.
Additional casting, along with design and creative team members, will be announced at a later date. The musical is produced by National Black Theatre, Universal Theatrical Group, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, John Legend and Mike Jackson’s Get Lifted Film Co., Liesl Tommy and Jennifer Mudge’s Crocodile Eyes, and Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon’s LD Entertainment.