ACT will present SOUL TRAIN musical world premiere in fall 2023

In fall 2021, A.C.T. will present the world premiere of the pre-Broadway musical, Soul Train (September 24-October 31, 2021), based on the iconic television show that brought Black music, dance, and style into every living room in America. In 1971, at a time of revolutionary cultural change, Black entrepreneur and visionary Don Cornelius created Soul Train. For the next four decades, he wrote, hosted, produced, and owned the series-turning it into a cultural institution, and the longest-running show on US television. Inspired by the series and Cornelius's personal journey, Soul Train is the brand new, Broadway-bound musical featuring an acclaimed creative team, including 2019 Tony Award-nominated and MacArthur Genius Grant-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau (Ain't Too Proud; The Detroit Project), 2019 Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown (A.C.T.'s Toni Stone; Tony Award-winning revival of Once on This Island) as choreographer, and the Apollo Theater's Kamilah Forbes (upcoming HBO adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) as director.

Elegant, determined, and complicated, Cornelius set trends for 40 years, and launched the careers of artists who created the soundtracks for generations-from Tina Turner, to Whitney Houston, to the Jackson 5. He also introduced dancers such as Rosie Perez and Jody Watley, whose attitude, steps, and style continue to influence the world today. The musical is produced by Tony Award-nominee Matthew Weaver (Rock of Ages), Jeffrey Tick (former owner of Broadway's Helen Hayes Theater), and Richard Gay (5Pack Entertainment founder, and former EVP of Viacom's Music Networks & BET Networks). Serving as executive producers are: four-time Grammy Award-winning artist and author of Soul Train: The Music, Dance and Style of a Generation Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson; Don Cornelius's son Tony Cornelius; Emmy Award nominated CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker; Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee, and Broadway veteran Devin Keudell (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical). Performances of Soul Train will take place at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater.

Says MacKinnon: "Choreographer Camille A. Brown is one of my most cherished collaborators. I cannot wait to see what she and the rest of this team of world-class thrilling artists bring. I love a musical that lets performers surprise even themselves. We are charged with creating a safe and brave Black space in the Geary so that this story about a brave Black space can soar. I cannot wait to be in the room."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/American-Conservatory-Theater-Announces-Season-Lineup-Including-the-World-Premiere-of-SOUL-TRAIN-and-More-20200729

Updated On: 4/15/22 at 03:56 PM

Where is the drama to support the book for this show? Act 1 showstopper .....the creation of the Soul Train line. It is just an excuse to showcase the songs during the show's run. I would never go see this. But I hope they feature Cheryl Song. She was the really pretty Asian dancer with the really long straight black hair. When she danced, she would work that hair. Whenever I watched Soul Train, I would look forward to her on the show.

I want live theatre to return , but not another jukebox musical. If this were the only thing open, I still wouldn't go.

JBroadway said: "Also, ACT has not had the best track record with "pre-Broadway" tryouts. I put "pre-Broadway" in quotes because I actually don't think they've had a single Broadway transfer in decades, if ever. And they rarely even get the tryouts in thefirst place - the regional defaults tend to be Berkeley Rep, The Curran, or SHN/BSF.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only think of 2 "Pre-Broadway tryouts" to have played at ACT in recent memory: "Tales of the City" and "A Walk on the Moon" - both seemingly dead in the water."

I can think of one: "High Society" starring Melissa Errico and a big-name supporting cast premiered at ACT in the fall of 1997 in pretty good shape ("...a world-premiere musical loaded with talent and driven by terrific theatrical invention." SF Chronicle), but was ruined by six months of unnecessary tinkering before opening on Broadway to disappointing reviews, audience indifference. and the most baffling poster art I can remember.

Fall 2023!? jfc they keep postponing and canceling everything. clearly there is some kind of train wreck (no pun intended) going on behind the scenes.

I feel terrible for my poor Mom who is an ACT subscriber and was super excited for both Lehman Trilogy and this, but both are now canceled or delayed.

jacobsnchz14 said: "https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Broadway-Aimed-HIPPEST-TRIP-THE-SOUL-TRAIN-MUSICAL-More-Set-for-ACT-202324-Season-20230321"

oooo! A name change!

very solid season overall from ACT! I really hope they can finally get Lehman in! I know my Mom is DYING to see it!

Crossing my fingers nothing goes wrong this time with either Hippest Trip or Lehman!

Still surprised Aint Too Proud crashed and burned on Bway. It was doing so well.

RippedMan said: "Still surprised Aint Too Proud crashed and burned on Bway. It was doing so well."

"Crashed and burned" feels like revisionist history. The show was successful for almost a year pre-pandemic. It never made less than $1 million a week (and was regularly over $1.5 million) between 3/19/19 and 3/1/20 and never made less than $800 thousand in a full week during it's whole pre-pandemic run.

And, re:bear88, I don't think it's really a theory to say it was a pandemic casualty, it's pretty clearly what it was. When it re-opened after pandemic, it was doing ok. It was never bellow $650k in a full week, but also never over $1 million. Then it got totally wrecked by Omicron. I think it's very likely that the producers saw that it had never returned to pre-pandemic numbers, lost a **** ton of money due to Omicron, and were looking toward a winter that would be brutal WITHOUT any more shutdowns, but still had the potential for them.

Almost the exact same story at Jagged Little Pill and To Kill a Mockingbird.

jacobsnchz14 said: "https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Pre-Broadway-SOUL-TRAIN-THE-HEADLANDS-More-Announced-for-American-Conservatory-Theater-202223-Season-20220415page

A.C.T. will close its 2022/23 season with the world premiere of the pre-Broadway musical, Soul Train (August 25-October 1, 2023). Get ready for "the hippest trip in America" with the world premiere of Soul Train, the Broadway-bound musical based on the iconic TV show that brought Black music, dance, and style into every living room in America. Journey back to 1971 Chicago, when Black entrepreneur and radio DJ Don Cornelius transformed the pop culture landscape by recognizing the lack of Black musical artists on television. Within a year, his local dance show went national and became one of the longest running shows in television history. Elegant, determined, and complicated, Cornelius set trends for nearly 40 years by giving a stage-and a camera-to the artists who created the soundtrack of multiple generations, and to the dancers, includingRosie PerezandJody Watley, who became superstars."

I really hope that I can get on Soul Train

Cast announcement

Anyone else attending?