Move over Matilda, there is a new unlikely Broadway star in town. According to Broadway World, "Basquiat The Musical" will get a private reading on June 24 with stars Eric LaJuan Summers and Felicia Finley.
That's right, art star Jean-Michel Basquiat will have his meteoric life immortalized in song, thanks to writers Chris Blisset, Matt Uremovich and Larry Tobias, and director Paul Stancato (who is married to Felicia Finley).
Of course if any artist were to get a Broadway debut, we would assume it would be Jean-Michel. The neo-Expressionist bad boy's iconic style, charismatic persona and tragic early death make for an extremely compelling story. He's already been the subject of documentary and film, and a blockbuster auction at Christie's, but the musical threshold has yet to be crossed...until now.
Summers, who previously starred in "Motown," seems like a good fit to play the graffiti king, leaving us wondering who will play Basquiat's mentor Andy Warhol and brief beau, Madonna.
What do you think of the prospect of a Basquiat-based musical? And which artist would you most like to see doing jazz hands on Broadway? Fingers crossed for Gerhard Richter...
