Will The Warriors Become A Broadway Musical?

 This past weekend saw the launch of Lin Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis's new concept album based on the 1979 movie of the same name, "The Warriors". About a gang, this time all female, making their way back home with a target on their backs when they are wrongfully blamed for killing another gang leader. I have been listening to the album, and it is going to take a while for me to process my thoughts and give a full review, but someday I will, it just might not be anytime soon. Aside from perhaps building to that by looking at a couple individual songs later on down the road, I thought I would explore a fascinating aspect of the musical. The nature of its release. It is a concept album, as the whole story is right there in the album, with no word of a coming stage adaptation. 

The reviews are a tad mixed on this one, and my early feelings are the same, as mentioned earlier it will take some time before I give a full review, but it is nice to compare my feelings with others as I go on this journey. I am still wondering if this will see the stage, and thus is the question and central theme of today's post.

There are a couple options, it could stay just as a concept album, it could come to the stage, or it could come to the stage and have new songs, changes to the story, and cut songs, all with potentially different performers and more with a release of an official cast album. There are many paths on this road, and it's hard to say where the story of this album begins and ends, it could stay as is or go beyond that. Hamilton was originally going to be a concept album as well before it came to the stage and became what we know it today, but that does not mean this will follow in Hamilton's footsteps. 

From an outsider's perspective who only sees flashes through pop culture, the news, and social media, it seems Lin Manuel Miranda has changed and moved on at least for now. He has directed a film, worked on multiple movies, and there are upcoming movies that he has had a hand in. He was in Ducktales and made several appearances on TV, wrote a poetry book, and more. There is a chance he could return to the stage someday, but that might be later down the road. I would love for him to direct more musical movies because, with Tick Tick Boom, he proved that he can use his knowledge of music to make a great musical movie.

He has worked on and will probably work on more Disney musical films, maybe even collaborate with them on a stage version. Who knows? I know I sure don't.

So at the end of the day, we have no idea of where this album will go if it is to the stage or just as is. But what we can judge and see is the artists we follow trying something new, changing, and going different ways. Even if they do or don't return to where they got their name, they carry that style, and why we followed their work into their new projects. Some will be hits, some will be flops but that is art and the nature of creating. Until then all we can do, is watch, listen, and grow ourselves.