“The Harder They Come” Musical Set for Toronto, Canada

The smash hit musical, The Harder They Come, based on Jamaica’s first feature-length movie of the same name, will be staged in Toronto, Canada, for six weeks starting in July.
President of Mirvish Productions, David Mirvish, made the announcement recently at the launch of the 2009/2010 Mirvish Theatre Subscription Season at the Princess of Wales Theatre in downtown Toronto. The event also featured the star in the original movie 35 years ago, reggae sensation, Jimmy Cliff, singing some of the hit songs from the film – “The Harder They Come”; “I Can See Clearly Now”; and “You Can Get It If You Really Want”.
The musical, which closely follows the Perry Henzell movie about a country boy named Ivan who went to Kingston to make it as a musician, first opened in 2006 in East London, England, to rave reviews.
“I first saw it in London and thought it was very special. The success of the play has rivaled the original film and this will be its North American premiere,” said Mr. Mirvish.
Justine Henzell, who is committed to carrying on the work of her late father, Perry Henzell, spoke of his vision in making a film in 1972 for Jamaicans “using the Jamaican vernacular, music, cast and crew.”
“After three years, four different shoots with three different cinematographers, countless script rewrites, numerous edits and editors, The Harder They Come had its historic premiere at the Carib Theatre. Jamaicans heard and saw themselves on the big screen, they laughed and shouted for the entire 100 minutes and came to see the film in record numbers, resulting in riots around the cinema. Jimmy Cliff sang his way into every Jamaican’s heart and as Ivan captured our rebellious spirit,” she recalled.
Ms. Henzell said the movie not only helped to pave the way for reggae music but also through it, Jamaican culture started to infiltrate the rest of the world. Noting that Bob Marley and the Wailers released five albums between 1973 and 1978, she said the “one-two cultural punch” of the movie and the successful Wailers “was impossible to resist.”
Perry Henzell died just a little over two years ago, but not before seeing his film transformed into a musical on the theatrical stage.
“I had been with Perry at the triumphant premiere and watched the smiles on his and Jimmy Cliff’s faces in the audience as they watched the brilliant young actor, Rolan Bell, come alive as Ivan. It is an experience I will always treasure,” recalled his daughter Justine.
Ms. Henzell said Toronto audiences are in for a treat as the music is so powerful it will take them on an emotional rollercoaster night after night. Describing the Afro-British cast as simply amazing, Ms. Henzell said that because most of them were not born when the movie first came out, they take the international recognition of Jamaica and reggae for granted.
“Through the experience of being in the musical they have also learnt that the reason they are able to wear the colours of the Jamaican flag on their Puma sneakers or have red, green and gold trim on their Adidas jacket is due in part to the film whose soundtracks they now sing.”
The producer of the play, Jan Ryan, said she had seen the movie in Brixton, England, in the early 1970s and it had always been a dream of hers to bring it to the stage. She said it was important that the musical be true to the film and retaining the “Jamaican-ness” was paramount.
The musical, she said, was originally set to run for six weeks in 2006, and in the end it ran for an amazing 11 weeks at 94 per cent capacity each night.