Amber Gray, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and More Will Lead Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' WARRIORS

Initial casting has been announced for WARRIORS, the new musical with book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis, coming to Broadway next year! WARRIORS will begin previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway on March 9, 2027 and officially open on April 8, 2027.

Based on the Paramount Pictures motion picture The Warriors, directed by Walter Hill, with a screenplay by David Shaber and Hill, and based on the book The Warriors by Sol Yurick, and licensed for the stage by Skydance Products & Publishing, WARRIORS is directed by Jenny Koons and co-directed and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler.

The WARRIORS cast will be led by Jaci Calderon, Aneesa Folds, Amber Gray, Julia Harriman, Sasha Hutchings, Gizel Jiménez, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Kenita R. Miller, Sasha Allen, Casey Likes, and Donald Webber Jr. Complete casting to be announced at a later date. Several cast members took part in the workshop for the musical that was held over the summer and teased on social media.

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About WARRIORS

Twelve years after revolutionizing theater, Lin-Manuel Miranda will return to Broadway in a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize finalist Eisa Davis. Together they have created WARRIORS, a musical that tells a story of loyalty, friendship, a search for peace, strength, and survival over one tumultuous night in New York. When the WARRIORS, a fictitious gang from Coney Island, are framed for the shocking murder of a respected leader, Cyrus, at a summit in the Bronx, they must race to get home to Coney Island to prove their innocence and save Cyrus' hope for peace in a perilous city.

'We're having the time of our lives making Warriors. It's a rollercoaster like the Coney Island Cyclone, with all the action of Walter Hill's classic film. It's a New York story to the bone, with music steeped in all the genres that were born and revolutionized here, from hip-hop to salsa to ska and metal and everything in between. It's an edge-of-your-seat journey from Brooklyn to the Bronx and back again. It's a dream of a more peaceful city where we all come home alive. This is the sound of something being born,' said Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis.

Produced by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Luis A. Miranda, Jr. and Jeffrey Seller, WARRIORS features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Jason Crystal, projection design by Hana S. Kim, fight direction by Drew Leary, music supervision by Kurt Crowley, and orchestrations by Kurt Crowley, Mike Elizondo, and Scott Wasserman.

The WARRIORS team will also include hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis with General Management by Bespoke Theatricals and Production Stage Manager Cody Renard Richard. Casting by Sujotta Pace/C12 Casting and Telsey & Co.

WARRIORS originated as a concept album, released on October 18, 2024, executive produced by GRAMMY Award-winning rapper & New York City native Nas and produced by GRAMMY Award-winning musician Mike Elizondo. The immersive listening experience featured a star-studded cast of voices on the album including Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Marc Anthony, Billy Porter, Ghostface Killah, RZA, Colman Domingo, Cam'ron, Kim Dracula, and more.

In its first week, the WARRIORS concept album achieved the #1 spot on the Billboard Compilation Album charts with 5.5 Million Global Streams and debuted at #8 on Digital Albums, #10 on Current Pop Albums, #21 on Current Album Sales, and #24 on Album Sales (including Catalog).

Find out everything you need to know about WARRIORS here.

About Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony award-winning songwriter, actor, director and producer. Creator and original star of Broadway's Tony-winning Hamilton and In the Heights. Additional Broadway: All In: Comedy About Love, New York, New York (Additional Lyrics, Tony Nomination for Best Musical), Freestyle Love Supreme (Co-Founder, Guest Performer, Special Tony Award Recipient), Bring It On: The Musical (co-composer/co-lyricist, Tony nomination for Best Musical), and West Side Story (2009 revival, Spanish translations). A 2026 Disney Legend honoree with stars on both the Puerto Rico Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Miranda is the recipient of the 2015 MacArthur Foundation Award, the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors and the 2019 Portrait of a Nation Prize. He and the Miranda Family support work that expands diversity in the arts and government, protects access to reproductive health care, and promotes resilience in Puerto Rico. Film credits include: tick, tick… BOOM!, Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe, Vivo, In the Heights, Hamilton (2021 Emmy Award, Outstanding Variety Special - Pre-Recorded), Percy Jackson & The Olympians, His Dark Materials, Fosse/Verdon, We The People, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Curb Your Enthusiasm (2018 Emmy Nomination, Guest Actor), Saturday Night Live (2017 Emmy Nomination, Guest Actor), Bluey, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, House, DuckTales, 200 Cartas, Mary Poppins Returns, The Little Mermaid (live-action), Mufasa: The Lion King, Moana (2017 Oscar nomination, Grammy Award for Best Original Song), Moana (live-action), and Encanto (2022 Oscar nomination for Best Original Song; two Grammy Awards). Miranda is the director of the forthcoming feature film adaptation of Dave Malloy's musical, Octet. www.linmanuel.com

About Eisa Davis

Eisa Davis is an award-winning multihyphenate artist working across stage, screen and song. Her soul-stirring new play with music, ||: GIRLS :||: CHANCE :||: MUSIC :||, recently completed its run in a co-production. Pulitzer Prize in Drama for her play Bulrusher, and wrote and starred in the stage memoir Angela's Mixtape, now published by 53rd State Press. Its world premiere was selected as a 'best of the year' in The New Yorker, and will be revived in NYC to commence Eisa's Signature Theater Company residency in spring 2027. Select stage works include The Essentialisn't (HERE, 2025), The History of Light (Barrymore nomination), Mushroom (Barrymore nomination), Hip Hop Anansi, and Ramp (Ruby Prize), among many others. An advocate and creator of hip hop theatre since its inception, she is the co-writer of the Warriors concept album and forthcoming Broadway musical with her friend Lin-Manuel Miranda. She is also creating the songs for a musical of Devil In A Blue Dress with acclaimed novelist Walter Mosley. Eisa wrote episodes for both seasons of Spike Lee's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It, served as producer and writer for the FX series Justified: City Primeval, and penned an original screenplay, Soul Rebel, for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Artists Equity. Through the Black femme collaborative project Afrofemononomy//Work The Roots, Eisa directed and starred in the short films Before We Got Took, After We Got Took and Remembrance, from a play by Kathleen Collins. She also wrote narrative text for Cirque du Soleil's first ice show, Crystal, co-directed by Shana Carroll. Eisa has earned an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, an AUDELCO, three Lucille Lortel nominations, and a Drama League nomination for her numerous stage roles including The Secret Life of Bees, Kings, Julius Caesar, Preludes, The Call, Luck of the Irish, This, and as a member of the original Broadway cast of the beloved rock musical Passing Strange. Her screen work includes Preppy (upcoming), Relay, Ex-Husbands, The Madness, Pose, Ahsoka, Monarch, Kindred, Mare of Easttown, The Wire, House of Cards, The Looming Tower, and Hart of Dixie. She has recorded two albums of original music, several songs from which were featured on the Showtime series Soul Food. A winner of the USA Artists Fellowship, Creative Capital and Herb Alpert Awards, a resident playwright of New Dramatists and a Cave Canem fellow, Eisa is a Bay Area native residing in Brooklyn, NY.

About Jenny Koons

Jenny Koons is an award-winning theater director and creative director working across theater, immersive performance, and large-scale live events. Her theatrical credits include Oedipus (Deaf West Theatre and the Getty Villa), her trilingual adaptation in American Sign Language, English, and ProTactile; SPEECHLESS, which she co-created and directed for Blue Man Group's newest North American tour; The Whitney Album (Soho Rep); Regretfully, So the Birds Are (Playwrights Horizons and WP Theater); Head Over Heels (Pasadena Playhouse, with Sam Pinkleton); Hurricane Diane (Huntington Theatre); Men on Boats (Baltimore Center Stage); A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Public Theater Mobile Unit); Sleepers Awake (world premiere, Opera Philadelphia), among others. She was Associate/Resident Director of Queen of the Night, the immersive theatrical experience recognized with a Drama Desk Award. Koons was the 2021 Ars Nova Vision Resident and the 2017 curator of New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center Lobby Project. Her work has been commissioned internationally, including Gimme Shelter, created for the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, and first festival commission Instant SPKRBOX for Norway's SPKRBOX Festival. She is a recipient of a Lilly Award and a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Her creative direction work includes the FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles and Closing Ceremony in New York/New Jersey and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Opening Ceremony. Her broader collaborations span fashion, music, and experiential design, including projects with Rag & Bone, Prada, and Cynthia Rowley, as well as work with David Byrne, Meow Wolf, and international arts organizations. A longtime advocate for equity and inclusion in the arts, Koons served on the steering committee of The Ghostlight Project, co-founded Artists 4 Change NYC, and founded Let's Talk About Hard Stuff, an AAPI affinity space dedicated to conversations about anti-racism and equity. She has developed new work with Universal Theatrical, Steppenwolf, Roundabout, and New Black Fest, and has worked with artists at The Juilliard School, Princeton, Harvard, and NYU.

About Andy Blankenbuehler

Andy Blankenbuehler is a proud recipient of the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors for his work on the musical Hamilton. He is a three-time Tony Award winner for his choreography in the musicals Bandstand, In The Heights and Hamilton, for which he also received London's Olivier Award. Other Broadway credits include Bring It On (Tony nomination), 9 To 5 (Tony nomination), The People In The Picture, The Apple Tree, Annie, and the revival of CATS. Other theatrical work includes Nine (Kennedy Center), Only Gold (MCC), Desperately Seeking Susan (West End), FLY (La Jolla Playhouse), The Wiz (City Center Encores), A Little Princess (Andrew Lippa), and the international tour of Joseph. Upcoming projects include the first Broadway revival of Kiss of the Spiderwoman, as well as the new musicals Grim and The Princess Bride. Andy served as choreographer for the Universal/Working Title feature film Cats, starring Taylor Swift and Judi Dench among others. On television, he co-produced and choreographed the Emmy-winning limited series Fosse/Verdon (FX), starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. Other work includes a soon to be released film by Jesse Eisenberg, the Lionsgate/ABC remake of Dirty Dancing, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, The Sopranos, MTV, Sesame Street featuring Janelle Monáe, as well as many commercials including John Travolta performing Greased Lightning as Santa (Capital One). He has staged concert work for both Elton John and Bette Midler, and he conceived, directed and choreographed the hit Caesars Palace production Nights On Broadway. Andy staged the 2022 Met Gala featuring Leslie Odom Jr. and Lenny Kravitz, in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann. He is very proud to have staged two ballets which have been performed around the world (Remember Our Song and Never Alone). As a performer, he has danced on Broadway in Fosse, Contact, Man of La Mancha, Saturday Night Fever, Steel Pier, Big and Guys and Dolls. He is thrilled to have met countless inspiring dancers through his teaching at New York City Dance Alliance, Steps, Broadway Dance Center, Juilliard, the University of Cincinnati, Michigan, Texas State, Carnegie Mellon as well as many other universities and dance schools internationally. He is a proud recipient of both the Drama Desk and Dance Magazine Awards for his achievement in the theatre.

Cast Biographies

Jaci Calderon (Fox) is a 25-year-old proud Mexican-American actor, born and raised in a small town in Idaho. Theatre credits: world premiere of Basura! A New Musical (Nambi), world premiere of Purple Rain Musical (Susan), and In the Heights at New York City Center (Nina). Her television credits include guest star roles on Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime, and Law & Order: Mothership (Nicole), as well as 9-1-1: Nashville (Casey). @jacicalderon

Aneesa Folds (Cleon) is the creator and star of Why Am I Here?, a new one-person show that will have a developmental staging at Ars Nova in New York this fall. She can be heard as Cleon on The Warriors album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis. Her Broadway credits include Freestyle Love Supreme, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale. Also the Freestyle Love Supreme national tour and Las Vegas residency. Off-Broadway: Ginger Twinsies. Other credits include the world premiere of the new musical Trading Places, directed by Kenny Leon, and the world premiere of the new musical Co-Founders. Film/TV: tick,tick…BOOM!, Vivo, Alma's Way, Disney Channel, Sesame Street, and Rolling Stone. She was recently spotlighted in Variety's 2026 '10 to Watch' List.

Amber Gray (Ajax) is currently in Sam Pinkleton's Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show revival. She has originated roles in Lucas Hnath's Tartuffe; Eisa Davis and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Warriors; Heather Christian's A Wrinkle in Time; Jonathan Spector's rewritten Eureka Day (Best Revival Tony); Here We Are, Sondheim's final musical; Hadestown (Tony Nomination, Grammy Award); …Great Comet… (Theatre World Award); Daniel Fish's Oklahoma!; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon (Obie). Gray is a longtime member of devised theatre company, The TEAM, and radical performance community Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir. TV: Long Bright River, The Gilded Age, Submissions Only, Barry Jenkins' Underground Railroad, Ben Stiller's Escape at Dannemora. Film: Heartworm (2026: Cinequest, Julien Dubuque, Woods Hole (Best Adult Performance in a Feature Film), Festival do Rio), Hadestown: The Musical, Master, Walden: Life in the Woods, Where There's Smoke, Bunny Boi and the Submission. MFA: NYU Grad Acting

Julia Harriman (Mercy) is currently in rehearsals for the Off-Broadway production of The Conversation, a new musical she and Joshua Henry co-wrote and will star in opposite one another this fall. Harriman is best known for starring as 'Eliza Hamilton' in the 1st national tour (Angelica Company) of Hamilton as well as the 'and Peggy' national tour. Warriors reunites Harriman with Lin-Manuel Miranda, as she previously starred opposite him in the Puerto Rico leg of the Hamilton tour. In addition to her stage work, Harriman voices one of the lead roles in the Netflix animated film Ultraman: Rising. She was also a co-songwriter and featured artist on the Netflix series, The Eddy.

Sasha Hutchings (Cowgirl) is 'Cowgirl' on WARRIORS, the concept album from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis. She is an original cast member of the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton, and is also featured in the Disney+ Hamilton film. Sasha starred as Laurey Williams in Daniel Fish's Oklahoma on Broadway and the National Tour, and appeared in the latest Broadway revival of Gypsy. Additional Broadway credits include My Fair Lady, Ragtime, Motown, and Memphis. As a director, Sasha was Associate Director of Ain't Too Proud at Transcendence Theatre and Assistant Director/Choreographer on Redwood at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Sasha stars as Budhi on Demascus (AMC/Tubi). Additional television credits include Hope on Run The World (STARZ), Elsbeth (CBS), and Fosse/Verdon (FX). As a teaching artist, she collaborates with Epic Theatre Ensemble and The Arthur Miller Foundation. @sashahutchings

Gizel Jiménez (Rembrandt) can be heard as Rembrandt on the concept album of WARRIORS and as McNamara in 'One by One' on the recently released deluxe edition of Heathers Off-Broadway album. On Broadway, Gizel was seen as Nessarose in Wicked. Tour/Off-Broadway credits include Rosalia in West Side Story (1st National Tour), Misty in Cornelia Street (Atlantic Theater), Kate Monster/Lucy in Avenue Q (New World Stages), Olivia in Miss You Like Hell (The Public, Drama Desk & Lortel nominations), Party People (The Public), Susan Wilkes in Big River (Encores!) and Unseamly (Urban Stages). Recent regional credits include Somebody to Love (Rubicon Theatre), Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (Denver Center), Dracula A Comedy of Terrors (Old Globe), Dawn in Waitress (Ogunquit Playhouse) and the world premiere musical Bliss (5th Ave). Film/Television: Sextet in Tick, Tick… BOOM! (Netflix), Bad Monkey (recurring, Apple TV), Dexter: New Blood (recurring, Showtime), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Divorce (HBO). @gizeljimenezofficial

Jasmine Cephas Jones (Swan) is an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning British-American actress, singer, and producer. Most recently, Jasmine appears in the DC Studios series Lanterns. She also stars alongside Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in a scene-stealing role in Ava DuVernay's Origin. She can be seen starring in STARZ's Blindspotting, where she also served as a producer. Jasmine got her start originating the roles of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton, earning a Grammy for her vocals on the accompanying album. She went on to star opposite Laurence Fishburne in Quibi's #Freerayshawn, earning an Emmy Award. Additional film credits include The Photograph, Monsters and Men, and Honest Thief alongside Liam Neeson. Television credits include HBO's Mrs. Fletcher and Lena Dunham's Girls. Her music includes the album Phoenix, EP Blue Bird, and a feature on Lin-Manuel Miranda's WARRIORS.

Kenita R. Miller (Cochise) was most recently seen Off-Broadway in Heather Christian's Animal Wisdom at Signature Theater. Her Broadway credits include For Colored Girls... (Lady In Red/Tony nomination), Come From Away (Hannah), Once On This Island (Mama Euralie/Grammy nomination), The Color Purple (Celie), Xanadu (Erato/Kira understudy). Her Off-Broadway credits include Lights Out: Nat King Cole (Perlina), Bella: An American Tall Tale (Miss Cabbagestalk/Mama), Langston In Harlem (Zora Neale Hurston/Drama Desk nomination/Audelco Award), Working (Drama Desk Award), Avenue Q. Regional credits include The Heart (Marianne), Parade (Minnie McKnight, Angela/2014 Barrymore Award Outstanding Featured Actress), Ragtime (Sarah). Her film and television credits include Tick, Tick…BOOM!, Sesame Street, Bull, Hostages, and Blacklist. She is a founding member of Grammy Award-winning band, The HawtPlates.

Sasha Allen (Cyrus) is a Harlem-raised actress and vocalist whose career spans theatre, music, film, and television. Stage credits include starring as Dionne in the Tony-winning revival of Hair on Broadway and in London's West End, as the Leading Player in the 1st National Tour of Pippin, and most recently as Katherine Jackson in Broadway's MJ. Off-Broadway credits include For Colored Girls… and MCC Theater's Walk on Through. Allen toured the world with The Rolling Stones for eight years, performing 'Gimme Shelter' alongside Mick Jagger and appearing in Olé Olé Olé! and Havana Moon. She performed and recorded backing vocals for David Bowie, Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Babyface, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Usher, Sara Bareilles, and Ariana Grande. Allen's screen credits include starring in and opening the cult classic film Camp, Blue Bloods (CBS), and Power (Starz). She was a semifinalist and fan favorite on NBC's The Voice. @sashaallenmusic

Casey Likes (Luther) is known for his acclaimed leading performances, including Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future (OCC nomination), William in Almost Famous (Theatre World Award) and most recently, JD in Off-Broadway's Heathers (Dorian nomination). Performer (since age 3), acclaimed director, writer, and producer. Played leading role in MGM's film Dark Harvest and 'Kiss' legend Gene Simmons in Spinning Gold. Jimmy Awards Finalist. Film: Everything Must Go. TV: The Birch, Acts of Crime (Dir. Sam Esmail), American Blackout. Regional: A Christmas Carol. As a director/producer he recently directed (and starred in) Spring Awakening and awarded short films. His solo show, 'Back to the Past,' regularly plays sold-out shows at 54 Below in New York City. @justcaseylikes

Donald Webber Jr. (Masai). Over the past year, he has starred on Broadway as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. He appears on Apple TV's Severance, and stars alongside Katie Holmes and Constance Wu in the upcoming film Happy Hours, accepted to the Tribeca Film Festival with a scheduled theatrical release to be announced. His Broadway credits include Glengarry Glen Ross (John Williamson), Our Town (Simon Stimson), Purlie Victorious (standby for Purlie), Motown: The Musical (OBC), and Holler If Ya Hear Me (OBC). Film and television credits include Happy Hours, The Punisher (Netflix), The Wiz: Live! (NBC), and Da Bronx U.S.A. (Oscar shortlist; 2 Music in Media nominations). Other stage credits include This World of Tomorrow (The Shed), The Preacher's Wife (Alliance), Children of Eden (Lincoln Center), Hamilton ('Aaron Burr' alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in Puerto Rico), Jersey Boys, Born For This, Renascence, Whorl Inside A Loop. University of Southern California, BFA Acting.

Ticket Information

WARRIORS will begin previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) on Broadway on March 9, 2027, and officially open on April 8, 2027. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, October 22 at 10:00 AM ET at BroadwayDirect.com.

WARRIORS will be offering an affordable ticket initiative, $79 ($68.25 ticket plus $10.75 handling fee) available via lottery beginning on January 11, 2027. The show will also sell the first two rows for $19.79 via lottery, beginning March 9, 2027. More details to be announced at a later date.

Tickets will go on sale for WARRIORS fans beginning Tuesday, October 20 at 10:00 AM ET. Visit WarriorsMusical.com to sign up for the fan pre-sale.