"When we were kings" turning into music – Variety

The "legendary roar in the jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire, Africa, evokes images of two bloodied fighters pushing themselves beyond the limits of endurance. However, the boxing match does not scream exactly musical.

That does not stop a producer, David Sonenberg, from trying to rock the movement into soft science. He plans to make a musical version of his film "When We Were Kings", an Oscar-winning film released in 1996 that captured the drama at the ring. The book of the musical will be adapted from the film and written by Shelley Marcus. The songs will be clbadics fR & B from the Zaire Music Festival in 1974. The soundtrack will also include "Rumble In The Jungle," written by The Fugees for the film. A workshop is scheduled for spring 2019 with plans for a complete stage music production the following year.

"Muhammad Ali has been called" The greatest of all time "for good reason," said Sonenberg in a statement. "Ali remains an undeniable cultural icon. Not only was he an extraordinarily talented athlete, poet, spiritual and political leader, but he was certainly one of the most charming, disarming, controversial and electrifying personalities of all time. "

The fight in Zaire is considered one of the greatest upheavals in sports history. It was thought that the foreman, more intimidating physically, surpbaded Ali, but he was able to win a knockout in the eighth round thanks to his approach of "the rope to the rope" to use his opponent.

In addition to Ali and Foreman, the musical will also feature cultural and political personalities such as Don King, Stokely Carmichael, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Howard Cosell and President Mobutu, as well as actors representing musicians such as James Brown, BB. King and The Pointer Sister. The Zaire Music Festival took place just before the fight between Foreman and Ali.