The new stage musical Imitation of Life now has a start date. The production will begin performances on Wednesday, September 9, at The Griffin Theater at The Shed Off Broadway, playing a strictly limited four-week engagement through Sunday, October 4.
The musical features a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, music and lyrics by EGOT winner John Legend, and direction by Liesl Tommy (Eclipsed). It is a co-production between The Shed and National Black Theatre, and will be performed with a full cast and live orchestra. The Shed has described it as their first major step in nurturing and developing a new American musical. Casting, design team, and additional creative details will be announced at a later date.
The musical is adapted from Fannie Hurst’s 1933 novel and draws from both the 1934 film directed by John M. Stahl — which starred Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, and Rochelle Hudson — and Douglas Sirk’s celebrated 1959 version starring Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, Sandra Dee, and Susan Kohner.
The story follows two single mothers, one Black and one white, and their daughters, who build a shared life while navigating a society divided by race and class. Set against the backdrop of 1920s Atlantic City and 1930s New York, the musical explores identity, the American Dream, and generational legacy.
In a joint statement, Nottage, Legend, and Tommy said the novel’s “themes of race, class, and gender in America continue to resonate today,” adding that it has been “a profound joy to collaborate on bringing this story to the stage.”
This marks Legend’s first major musical stage endeavor as a composer. He previously produced Ain’t Too Proud in 2019 and Jitney in 2017, and contributed a song to SpongeBob SquarePants in 2017.