Theater News

A New Musical About Boxer Muhammad Ali is Being Developed for Broadway

Clint Dyer will write and direct.

Muhammad Ali was a legendary boxing champion.
Muhammad Ali was a legendary boxing champion.
(© Dutch National Archives)

Ali, a new musical celebrating the life of Muhammad Ali has its eyes set on Broadway.

Clint Dyer (Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical) will write and direct the piece with music by Teddy Abrams (Musical America's Conductor of the Year Award for 2022).

Abrams said, "I began exploring Ali's life in 2016 when I wrote a multimedia rap-oratorio about his life. In that process, I recognized that Ali's journey from fighter to humanitarian reflected the personal and global conflicts and contradictions of the human condition, and through his lens, I better understood persistent and fundamental issues, and the continued need to strive for peace and equality. Ali deserves the epic, dramatic treatment of a full-scale musical, enshrining his legend and teachings for his fans as well as new generations to come. I am thrilled and honored to work with such an exceptional, world-class team to create this new work!"

Dyer added, "This can only be described as a dream come true for me. The chance to articulate in this medium what he represents to me, and millions across the world, is thrilling."

The musical will be produced by Richard Willis, Brook T Smith, and TheTribecaWorkshop in collaboration with ABG Entertainment and in partnership with Lonnie Ali, former wife of the boxing legend, who said, "Muhammad has been a muse and continues to be a source of inspiration to so many artists around the world. I'm so proud to support this project and am thrilled to see his story brought to life on the Broadway stage."

A pre-Broadway engagement for Ali, as well as casting and additional creative team information, will be announced soon.