Yesterday, many people around the country celebrated Juneteenth, which commemorates when slaves found out about the ending of slavery in the United States. In the wake of the celebration, Pharrell Williams, and “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris announced their plans to create a stage musical inspired by the holiday.
According to Deadline, the subject was inspired by a 2017 “Black-ish” episode titled “Juneteenth: The Musical.” Barris will write the libretto of the musical along with Peter Saji, while Williams will write and compose the music under his “i am OTHER” company.
Not too many details about the musical were revealed, but it is expected to focus on two different African-American families, one during contemporary times and the other during the Civil War era.
Williams said, “I dream about projects like this. Kenya and Peter are geniuses and Juneteenth will change culture and change history. We couldn’t sign up fast enough. We are thrilled to collaborate with them.”
Barris took to social media to announce the news and said, “It’s coming to BROADWAY and we’re NOT playin’!!”
Congrats to Pharrell and Kenya Barris on their new project.
