The new musical “ALI,” which chronicles champion boxer and activist Muhammad Ali's life and rise to fame, will have its world premiere in Louisville in 2024, Broadway publicity agency Boneau/Bryan-Brown announced yesterday.
The show will premiere at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts next fall and will “utilize the musical theatre medium to explore the life of the man who overcame tremendous odds to become the G.O.A.T and who used his platform to become one of the most influential and inclusive civil rights leaders the world may ever know,” according to a press release.
The musical’s creative team includes composer Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra and composer of the 2017 rap-opera “The Greatest: Muhammad Ali”; director and book writer Clint Dyer; associate director Asmeret Ghebremichael; lead producer Richard Willis; choreographers Rich and Tone Talauega; set designer Anna Fleischle; costume designer Emilio Sosa; lighting designer Jen Schriever; boxing consultant and fight coordinator Michael “Silk” Olajide Jr., and more.
“We are proud to announce these extraordinarily gifted artists joining the ALI creative team,” Willis said in a press release. “We look forward to the collaboration, as we build the most innovative and entertaining musical possible, in celebration of the great man’s life and legacy. We are also beyond delighted to announce the show's world premiere will take place in the great city of Louisville, where it all began. It is going to be an incredibly special event for everyone involved, and we hope to bring joy and healing to all Louisvillians, in light of the senseless tragedies over the past week.”
Abrams said, “I am absolutely thrilled that we will be premiering ALI in Louisville, the shared hometown of Muhammad and Lonnie Ali, the Louisville Orchestra, and myself! I am honored to be working alongside the exceptionally talented artists on our creative team and I can’t wait for us to share this production with the world. Muhammad cared deeply for Louisville his entire life, and I know that he would be very happy that we’ll be celebrating his story at the Kentucky Center in the fall of 2024!”
Casting for the show has not yet been announced.
