“Paradise Square,” a new musical that explores racial relations in 19th-century New York.
Revised and in development for a decade, the show is about a long-gone slum in Lower Manhattan, Five Points, where free black residents and Irish immigrants coexisted prior to the Civil War until the draft of 1863.
The musical isn’t just about the history of New York City, it’s also about the history of music and dance. It features songs by Stephen Foster, a prominent 19th century American songwriter who spent time at Five Points towards the end of his life, and credits the Five Points community with a role in the origins of tap dancing. (Tap is an American dance form that is widely believed to have roots in the British Isles and Africa; it has a complex and gritty history, but the Five Points dance cellars were an important development site for the form.)
“Paradise Square” is a comeback offer from famous Canadian producer Garth Drabinsky, who won three Tony Awards in the 1990s but was later convicted of fraud. He was serving time in a Canadian prison; Charges in the United States were later dismissed.
The musical is set to play Joaquina Kalukango, a Tony nominee for “Slave Play,” as the owner of the saloon where much of the action takes place. Other actors include Chilina Kennedy (“Beautiful”), John Dossett (a Tony candidate for “Gypsy”), Sidney DuPont (“Beautiful”), AJ Shively (“Bright Star”), Nathaniel Stampley (“The Color Purple”) , Gabrielle McClinton (“Pippin”) and Jacob Fishel (“Violinist on the Roof”).
The Broadway run is slated to begin previewing on February 22nd and open at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on March 20th. Prior to the pandemic, the musical was slated to capitalize up to $ 13.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission; A spokesman said actual capitalization is likely to be a little lower.
The show has a complex production history and an evolving creative team led by director Moisés Kaufman (best known as creator of “The Laramie Project”) and choreographer Bill T. Jones (a two-time Tony winner for “Fela!” And “Spring Awakening”). It is based on a musical called “Hard Times” that was conceived by Larry Kirwan, lead singer of Black 47, and performed in 2012 at the Cell Theater. Then it was produced as “Paradise Square” at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2019 and this fall, before it moves to Broadway, it is slated to run for five weeks at the James M. Nederlander Theater in Chicago.
The book is now attributed to four authors: Kirwan and three playwrights, Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, and Craig Lucas. The score, which includes both original songs and songs attributed to Foster, now has three authors: Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen, and Masi Asare.
Kaufman said the interruption to the pandemic gave the creative team “an opportunity to think”.
“At Berkeley we learned our story was epic, but we had to keep focusing on our individual characters,” he said. “And that is the work that has taken place.”
Brian Seibert contributed the reporting.
