Schele Williams to Direct Broadway-Bound Beat Street Musical with New Material by Nas

Beat Street, the Broadway-bound musical based on the 1984 film, has set its principal creative team. Schele Williams, Kristoffer Diaz and Jason Michael Webb join previously announced Grammy Award winner Nas, who is creating new material for the production and expanding the film’s soundtrack.

Williams (The Wiz 2024 Broadway revival, The Notebook co-directed with Michael Greif) will direct Beat Street. Diaz, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and book writer for Hell's Kitchen on Broadway, will write the show’s book, based on the MGM motion picture. Special Tony Award recipient Webb (Choir Boy, MJ, Purple Rain) joins the team as music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator. Further details concerning casting and production timeline will be shared in the coming months.

Set in the early 1980s, Beat Street revolves around a group of aspiring young talents in the South Bronx, including a graffiti artist, a DJ and a break-dancer, as they pursue their dreams in the emerging hip-hop scene while facing the challenges of urban life. The film was directed by Stan Lathan, with music by Harry Belafonte and Arthur Baker, story by Steven Hager and screenplay by Andrew Davis, David Gilbert and Paul Golding. The cast was led by Rae Dawn Chong, Gus Davis and Jon Chardiet.

The film was also notable for appearances by major artists of the era, including Doug E. Fresh, DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambataa & The Sonic Force, Us Girls, The Treacherous Three, Magnificent Force, The New York City Breakers, Rock Steady Crew, and Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five, among others. The soundtrack for Beat Street, released in two volumes, was produced by Baker. Volume One was one of the first rap albums to be certified gold.