World Premiere
Begins February 16, 2023
Book by Suzan-Lori Parks
Including Songs by Jimmy Cliff
Additional New Songs by Suzan-Lori Parks
Based upon the film, produced and directed by Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone
Music Supervision, Orchestrations, and Arrangements by Kenny Seymour
Choreography by Edgar Godineaux
Co-Directed by Sergio Trujillo
Directed by Tony Taccone
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and The Public’s Writer-in-Residence, Suzan-Lori Parks, brings to The Public a new musical adaptation of the 1972 movie, THE HARDER THEY COME. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the breakthrough film, produced and directed by Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone, tells the story of Ivan, a young singer who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, eager to become a star. After falling in love and cutting a record deal with a powerful music mogul, Ivan soon learns that the game is rigged, and as he becomes increasingly defiant, he finds himself in a battle that threatens not only his life, but the very fabric of Jamaican society.