Source: Rita Barros / Getty
New Jack City is headed to the stage. The 90’s cult classic is being turned into a stage play, New Jack City Live On Stage!, by producer Je’Caryous Johnson.
According to his website, Johnson “fuses the captivating thrill-a-minute story, the memorable lines everyone knows and loves and the iconic musical soundtrack of the original cult classic hit movie, New Jack City. Fans will relive the non-stop drama of one crime family bonded by blood and forged together through friendship and audiences will be transported back to the early 90s when drug kingpin Nino Brown takes over the Carter apartment complex.”
The New Jack City Live On Stage! cast includes Allen Payne, who will reprise his role as Gee Money, Treach, Big Daddy Kane and Flex Alexander.
The tour will kick off Nov. 4, 2022 in Philadelphia will go on to play in Baltimore, Washington, D.C, Brooklyn, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles. The finale will be in St. Louis on Feb. 26, 2023. Tickets are on sale.
Besides the stage play, there were talks of a New Jack City prequel. Barry Michael Cooper who wrote the screenplay for New Jack City, shared an idea about a follow-up to the gangster flick.
“‘The Diary of Nino Brown: The Monster Reagan Created.’ Prequel. Sequel. Work In Progress. Soon. GOD Willing,” Cooper shared on Twitter in 2021.
He also had a vision for a sequel titled Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
Whether it is a play, sequel or prequel, Wesley Snipes, who played drug dealing killer Nino Brown, wants to be left out of it.
“I think some things should be left alone…if it worked at the time under the circumstances,” he told OkayPlayer in 2019. “And the story was built around things that are current. I don’t particularly like the idea of recreating the drug culture. For what?”
Twitter had a mouthful to say about the New Jack City Live! play. While some had no interests, others were eager to support another Black production. Take a look at the mixed reactions below.
