Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for THE HARDER THEY COME at the Public Theater

Tony Taccone directs this new musical, with co-direction by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo and choreography by Edgar Godineaux.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and The Public's Writer-in-Residence, Suzan-Lori Parks, will bring to The Public a new musical adaptation of the 1972 movie, THE HARDER THEY COME.

Get a first look inside rehearsals below!

The production will begin performances in the Newman Theater with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Thursday, February 16 and will run through Sunday, March 26, with an official opening on Wednesday, March 15.

The breakthrough film, produced and directed by Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone, tells the story of Ivan, a young singer who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, eager to become a star. After falling in love and cutting a record deal with a powerful music mogul, Ivan soon learns that the game is rigged, and as he becomes increasingly defiant, he finds himself in a battle that threatens not only his life, but the very fabric of Jamaican society. Featuring Grammy Award winner Jimmy Cliff's hits, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" and "Many Rivers to Cross," former Artistic Director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre Tony Taccone directs this new musical, with co-direction by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo and choreography by Edgar Godineaux.

The complete cast of THE HARDER THEY COME includes Jeannette Bayardelle (Daisy), Shawn Bowers (Ensemble), J. Bernard Calloway (Preacher), Andrew Clarke (Lyle), Eean Sherrod Cochran (Understudy), Tyla Collier (Understudy), Jamal Christopher Douglas (Ensemble), Tiffany Francès (Understudy), Garfield Hammonds (Understudy), Dana Marie Ingraham (Ensemble), Dominique Johnson (Jose), Chelsea-Ann Jones (Ensemble), Natey Jones (Ivan), Dudney Joseph Jr (Ray), Dwight Xaveir Leslie (Understudy), Morgan McGhee (Ensemble), Meecah (Elsa), Jacob Ming-Trent (Pedro), Alysha Morgan (Ensemble), Ken Robinson (Hilton), Housso Semon (Ensemble), Denver Andre Taylor (Understudy), Sir Brock Warren (Ensemble), Carla Woods (Understudy), and Christopher Henry Young (Ensemble).


THE HARDER THEY COME features scenic design by Clint Ramos & Diggle; costume design by Emilio Sosa; lighting design by Japhy Weideman; sound design by Walter Trarbach; projection design by Hana S. Kim; hair, wig and makeup design by Earon Chew Nealey; prop management by Claire M. Kavanah; fight and intimacy direction by Rocio Mendez; dialect coaching by Dwight Bacquie; music contracting by Kristy Norter; and music direction by John Bronston. Jeffrey Rodriguez serves as production stage manager and Amanda Michaels and Alex Murphy serve as stage managers.



NAATCO Presents Off-Broadway Premiere Of ROMEO AND JULIET By Hansol Jung Photo
Mia Katigbak, actor-manager and co-founder of NAATCO, has announced the details for the Off-Broadway premiere of Hansol Jung’s modern verse translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the classic tale of star-crossed love. 

Cast Announced For Agatha Christies THE STRANGER Off-Broadway Photo
Be Bold! Productions has announced the complete cast of Agatha Christie's The Stranger, which is running Off-Broadway at the Players Theatre April 18 -23.

Elisa Brown to Perform HOODWINKED FROM HEAVEN at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Nortons Sym Photo
Hoodwinked from Heaven will make its NYC debut at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton's Symphony Space on Sunday, May 7, 2023 @ 3:00 PM

Cindy Peralta, Yohanna Florentino & More to Star in VÁMONOS World Premiere at I Photo
INTAR THEATRE and the RADIO DRAMA NETWORK announced complete casting for their Main Stage production of Julissa Contreras’ play Vámonos.


More Hot Stories For You


NAATCO Presents Off-Broadway Premiere Of ROMEO AND JULIET By Hansol JungNAATCO Presents Off-Broadway Premiere Of ROMEO AND JULIET By Hansol Jung
March 31, 2023

Mia Katigbak, actor-manager and co-founder of NAATCO, has announced the details for the Off-Broadway premiere of Hansol Jung’s modern verse translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the classic tale of star-crossed love. 

Cast Announced For Agatha Christie's THE STRANGER Off-BroadwayCast Announced For Agatha Christie's THE STRANGER Off-Broadway
March 31, 2023

Be Bold! Productions has announced the complete cast of Agatha Christie's The Stranger, which is running Off-Broadway at the Players Theatre April 18 -23.

Elisa Brown to Perform HOODWINKED FROM HEAVEN at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton's Symphony SpaceElisa Brown to Perform HOODWINKED FROM HEAVEN at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton's Symphony Space
March 31, 2023

Hoodwinked from Heaven will make its NYC debut at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton's Symphony Space on Sunday, May 7, 2023 @ 3:00 PM

Cindy Peralta, Yohanna Florentino & More to Star in VÁMONOS World Premiere at INTAR TheatreCindy Peralta, Yohanna Florentino & More to Star in VÁMONOS World Premiere at INTAR Theatre
March 31, 2023

INTAR THEATRE and the RADIO DRAMA NETWORK announced complete casting for their Main Stage production of Julissa Contreras’ play Vámonos.

Photos: First Look at Jessica Hendy's WALKING WITH BUBBLES Off-BroadwayPhotos: First Look at Jessica Hendy's WALKING WITH BUBBLES Off-Broadway
March 31, 2023

Get a first look at Jessica Hendy's Walking With Bubbles Off-Broadway at the AMT Theater!