James Brown’s life adapted into a stage musical aiming for Broadway
A stage musical on the legendary James Brown is in development for a national tour and Broadway run.
“James Brown: The Musical” chronicles the rags-to-riches story of the pioneering singer, songwriter and bandleader known as the “Godfather of Soul,” “Soul Brother No. 1,” “Mr. Dynamite” and “the Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” Co-written by Atlanta-based playwright Jeremy E. Cormier and Brown’s daughter Deanna Brown Thomas, it’s an intimate portrait of the performer on tour, in the studio and at home.
The show also confronts Brown’s history with business, domestic violence, prison, overcoming poverty and racism. The musical has 40 of the entertainer’s compositions placed throughout, with plans for its world premiere in Atlanta early next year.
“James Brown: The Musical” is told through Thomas, whose character is a radio disc jockey narrating the story. She told UATL the play gives an unapologetic view of her father.
“My dad’s life was intense, with over 50 years in the music business. He didn’t let anything stop him and used the gift that God gave him,” she said. “For a lot of people, this will answer some whys. I don’t hold back on anything, and in order for you to understand, you have to know the good, bad, ugly, amazing, fabulous, highs and lows.”
Brown debuted in the mid-1950s before becoming well-known in the ‘60s for his church-inspired vocals and vamps. Onstage, he kicked, did splits and tricks with his microphone stand, yelled, held up hand gestures for his band, and had a cape draped over him.
As one of the most influential entertainers in popular music, the Grammy winner’s precise rhythms and arrangements on songs like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “The Payback” and “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” provided the blueprint for funk music, gave Black listeners empowering messages, and was heavily sampled by hip-hop and R&B musicians. He was also the muse for Michael Jackson, Prince and Usher as dancers and performers.
In 1986, Brown was inducted with the inaugural class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was also in the Songwriters, Georgia Music, and Rhythm and Blues halls of fame.
Brown died on Christmas Day in 2006 in Atlanta from pneumonia and heart failure at age 73.
Cormier, director and lead producer, calls the musical “a homecoming.”
“Mr. Brown died in Atlanta, so we get to dictate the story and not send it to Hollywood to whitewash it. We go into so many different aspects of his life to give people a roller-coaster ride, so when they’re sitting in the audience, they can feel the pain, excitement and trials. You can’t press rewind in the theater, so you have to pay attention,” he said.
Cormier also said putting the musical in smaller venues is an homage to Brown’s concert tours in his prime.
“We want to take it to the people and go from city to city to bring the show to his fans, friends and family who can’t afford $2,000 to pay for a flight, hotel and eat,” Cormier said.
“Broadway is just a stop for us. If we never make it there, that’s cool, but we’ve gotten the show out to where we need to get it out to.”
The musical isn’t the first time Brown’s story was adapted for stage and screen. In 2014, Brown was the subject of the blockbuster biopic “Get on Up.” His life was also examined in documentaries on HBO and A&E.
Thomas said the musical allows her more creative license than cinema and television.
“We can go into areas the film doesn’t go into, and I wanted it to be of my account, because that isn’t on Wikipedia,” she said.
“I do not profess to be an expert on James Brown, but it’s authentic, sincere and I lived it.”
Atlanta-based filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper, director of A&E’s four-part series “James Brown: Say it Loud,” said Thomas was resourceful and trusted her with telling Brown’s story.
“Deanna is speaking through her lived experience as a little girl coming of age as her father becomes a global icon. It’s her memory and identity,” Draper said.
In 2007, Cormier, a Louisiana native then attending Morehouse College, began volunteering with the James Brown Family Foundation, which Thomas founded and serves as president. She often shared stories with Cormier about touring with her dad.
On a trip to New York in February 2023, he persuaded Thomas to adapt Brown’s life into a musical.
“Every time we sat down together, she’d tell me a different story of her dad, imitating his voice, how it was doing his hair and running his businesses. She said somebody else had the rights to it, so we couldn’t do anything. I would always be, like, she had her story and to tell that part,” Cormier said.
Cormier started taking notes and working on an outline for a script. “Papa Didn’t Take No Mess,” a precursor to “James Brown: The Musical” had a two-week run in October 2024 at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center in Decatur.
Cormier said Broadway involves numerous approvals and clearances.
“That’s a whole different story. Verbally, we have it all. We’ve been waiting to sign the papers. The company who had the rights didn’t follow through on the rest of their license, so it just fell in our lap,” he said.
Keeping Brown’s story relevant is something Thomas takes seriously. She said she’s not fazed by his life getting dramatized for New York’s theater district.
“They’re excited about going to Broadway, but that’s just one street. We got all kinds of places we can go to and tell the story like it is. He touched, worked around and opened doors for too many people,” she said.
Thomas said she is simply proud for new audiences to learn about his contributions to culture and music.
“He was way ahead of his time, and this brings my father into the future, to a different genre and generation of people.”