Vietnam War Musical Rolling Thunder to Get Off-Broadway U.S. Premiere This Summer

Rolling Thunder, a show grappling with the Vietnam war and its aftermath set to the rock songs of the era, will have its U.S. premiere off-Broadway this summer. The show will begin performances at New World Stages on July 10 with an official opening set for July 24. 

The book is by Australian journalist and writer Bryce Hallett. Kenneth Ferrone directs.

Described as part rock concert, part documentary—the Australian premiere production featured an onstage band—Rolling Thunder brings songs of the late '60s and early '70s together with raw storytelling inspired by the stories of Vietnam veterans and their families. Covering the draft, combat, civil rights movement and homecoming, the show tells a story of courage, longing, loss and hope.

Rolling Thunder will feature more than 20 rock classics, including songs written by and associated with Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix (“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “All Along the Watchtower”), the Rolling Stones (“Gimme Shelter”), Simon and Garfunkel (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”), the Impressions (“People Get Ready”), Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill (“We Gotta Get Out of This Place”) and more. 

The show was first staged in Australia in 2014 and revived in 2023.