As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been at work on his new musical, based on Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel The Warriors. The novel delves into violent gang confrontations in New York City during the 1960s.
According to Bloomberg, Miranda just finished creating a concept album for the new project, which features “Broadway actors and major pop stars.” Playwright Eisa Davis has also reportedly joined Miranda as a co-writer.
Further plans for the project have not yet been announced.
The Warriors chronicles one New York City gang’s nocturnal journey through the seedy, dangerous subways and city streets of the 1960s. Every gang in the city meets on a sweltering July 4 night in a Bronx park for a peace rally. The crowd of miscreants turns violent after a prominent gang leader is killed and chaos prevails over the attempt at order.
The novel was previously adapted as a film in 1979. The film adaptation, directed by Walter Hill, transported audiences into the gritty underworld of New York’s gang culture. Notably different in tone and style from the novel, Hill’s cinematic rendition garnered a cult following over the years. At the box office, while it initially faced a lukewarm reception, it ended up grossing over $22.5 million domestically against a modest budget, demonstrating its enduring appeal.
This would be Miranda’s first new musical since Hamilton for the stage, though he’s worked on musical projects for Disney (Encanto, The Little Mermaid), Netflix (tick… tick… Boom!), as well as contributed new/additional lyrics for New York, New York.
A Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy, Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, and actor, Lin-Manuel is the creator and original star of Broadway’s Hamilton and In the Heights, and the recipient of the 2015 MacArthur Foundation Award and 2018 Kennedy Center Honors.
Miranda’s theatre credits include: In The Heights (2008); West Side Story – Broadway Revival (2009); Working (2012); Bring it On The Musical (2012); Merrily We Roll Along (2012); 21 Chump Street (2014); Tick, Tick… BOOM! (2014); Hamilton (2015); Camelot (2019); Freestyle Love Supreme (2019)
