Lin-Manuel Miranda has announced the cast for his next Broadway musical, Warriors, arriving a decade after Hamilton became a cultural phenomenon. The production stars Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jaci Calderon, Aneesa Folds, Amber Gray, Julia Harriman, Sasha Hutchings, Gizel Jiménez, Kenita R. Miller, Sasha Allen, Casey Likes, and Donald Webber Jr., with several cast members having either worked on earlier iterations of Warriors or appeared in Miranda’s previous shows, Hamilton and In the Heights. Additional casting will be announced later.
Warriors begins previews March 9 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with opening night set for April 8. Based on Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel and Paramount’s 1979 action film, the musical follows a fictional Bronx gang racing back to their home turf in Coney Island after being framed for a rival gang leader’s murder. Miranda co-wrote the book, music, and lyrics with Eisa Davis. The stage production traces its origins to a 2024 concept album executive produced by Nas and produced by Mike Elizondo, featuring vocals from Ms. Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Marc Anthony, Billy Porter, Ghostface Killah, RZA, Colman Domingo, Cam’ron, and Kim Dracula.
In a joint statement, Miranda and Davis described the show as a distinctly New York story, pulling from the full range of musical genres born or reshaped in the city, hip-hop, salsa, ska, and metal, calling it both an adrenaline-driven ride and ultimately a vision of a more peaceful city where everyone makes it home.
Jenny Koons directs, with Tony winner Andy Blankenbuehler, who previously worked with Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, co-directing and choreographing. Thomas Kail, Miranda, his father Luis A. Miranda Jr., and Jeffrey Seller produce. The creative team includes scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Jason Crystal, projection design by Hana S. Kim, and music supervision by Kurt Crowley.
With a cast this stacked with Miranda veterans and recognizable names from the original concept album already tied to the project’s DNA, the next thing to watch is how closely the stage version leans into the concept album’s hip-hop-forward sound versus charting its own distinct musical identity.