Bronzeville The Subject Of New Musical From Local Theatre Company

The Cast of Madhi Theatre Company’s production of “Bronzeville the Musical.” Photo provided by AppreyPR.
The Cast of Madhi Theatre Company’s production of “Bronzeville the Musical.” Photo provided by AppreyPR.

Bronzeville The Subject Of New Musical From Local Theatre Company

By Tia Carol Jones

The Madhi Theatre Company is reviving “Bronzeville The Musical.” The show will take place from April 5th through 14th at the Studebaker Theater Performing Arts Center, located at 410 S. Michigan Ave.

Madhi Theatre Company has been working on Bronzeville since 2003-2004. Margaret Mahdi, founder, producer, playwright and artistic director, said the concept for the musical came from Sam Greenlee, who inspired her to create a musical about the Black Renaissance in Bronzeville. Upon doing research, Madhi and her team found there was a thriving Black Renaissance movement in Bronzeville.

The show originally ran from 2003-2004. Then, it was picked back up again in 2010, but Mahdi was motivated to make the musical to have a Broadway feel. She studied the science of Broadway, the sound, the coloring and how to create a story. It resulted in a rewrite of the script. In 2016, the musical was featured on stage at the Chicago Theater and toured to Detroit at Cobo Hall. The Madhi Theatre Company played around with the script again, adding more characters.

The story follows a family who lives in Bronzeville. Their teenage son Marquis wants to participate in the teen takeovers happening across the city. The father guides the son through his history with a photo album, that comes to life and takes them on an ancestral journey from Mali to the American South.

Madhi said the play’s message is about redemption, faith, legacy, history and honoring who and where Black people come from. She wants to show young people the importance of the Great Migration and the life their ancestors came to Chicago to build.

“When we look at the musical theater we don’t see enough of us, enough of our stories, our narratives, written and produced and created by us,” said Madhi, who founded the theater company with the mission to educate, elevate, inspire and entertain. “I want people to be able to say, ‘that’s us on that stage,’ and see that Broadway is not just for other races, but it’s also for us and we have a story in us and we want to put it on a larger stage where humanity can appreciate our story and our fight.”

The original score was written by Madhi and Arthur Muhammad, with a musical arrangement of the score by Timothy Walker. Madhi wants people to leave singing all the songs. One of Madhi’s favorite songs from the musical is “Every time We Catch That Train,” because she said it is upbeat and every time she hears it, it rings in her head. She also loves the choreography that is attached to the number. Luella Barnett Muhammad and Matthew Williams are the choreographers.


Madhi wants the audience to be inspired by the story and wants to make a positive change in their community. She hopes the show will open conversations between families at home.

“I hope they make a connection, because this is a story of humanity and our story, the Black life, is a Universal message. So much has transpired with us and the fight coming out of slavery and Civil Rights and we’re still here. So, we hope that people leave connecting to the story and to the message,” she said.

The goal is for the theatre company to receive support so they can take the musical on tour to different cities across the country. Anyone looking to partner with Madhi Theatre Company can email margaret.madhi@madhitheatre.com.

For more information about Madhi Theatre Company, visit www.madhitheatre.com.


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