Family of Vinicius De Moraes Releases Statement on Broadway Bound Musical Adaptation of BLACK ORPHEUS

As BWW reported yesterday, Producers Stephen Byrd, Alia Jones-Harvey, and Paula Marie Black announced that the new Broadway bound musical stage adaptation of Black Orpheus will feature a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and will be directed by multi Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe. The score will include many of the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, and Vinicius de Moraes themes from the motion picture.

Today, the family of Vinicius de Moraes issued the following statement regarding the Broadway bound musical adaptation:

Rio de Janeiro - "At this exciting moment in time for the diversity of the Brazilian culture, the news that Black Orpheus will be realized as a musical on Broadway, under the aegis of George C. Wolfe and Lynn Nottage, could not be more thrilling. On behalf of the Vinicius de Moraes family, we know that these theatrical masters will do us proud."

Originally based on the play Orfeu de Conceição by the great Moraes, Black Orpheus resets the classic Greek love story of Eurydice and Orfeu against the back drop of a Rio de Janeiro favela during Carnival. Equal parts celebratory, erotic, haunting and tragic, Black Orpheus became an instant classic, winning the Cannes Palme d'Or and the 1959 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and introduced the world to Bossa Nova.

"We are so thrilled to bring this classic piece of Brazilian popular culture to life on stage," said producer Stephen Byrd. "The World Cup is providing a wonderful international platform for Brazil right now, and we look forward to further spotlighting this legacy on Broadway!"

Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play RUINED has also received an OBIE, the Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Manhattan Theatre Club, Goodman Theatre). It premiered in London at The Almeida Theatre in April 2010, and will tour several US regional theatres in 2010-2011. Her play BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK premiered at Second Stage Theatre during its 2010-2011 season. Other plays include INTIMATE APPAREL (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play; Roundabout Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, South Coast Repertory); FABULATION, OR THE RE-EDUCATION OF UNDINE (OBIE Award; Playwrights Horizons, London's Tricycle Theatre); CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY; LAS MENINAS; MUD, RIVER, STONE; POR'KNOCKERS and POOF! Lynn is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant," the National Black Theatre Festival'sAugust Wilson Playwriting Award, the 2004 PEN/Laura Pels Award for Drama, the 2005 Guggenheim Grant for Playwriting, as well as fellowships from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatistsand New York Foundation for the Arts. Her most recent publications include: Ruined (TCG), Intimate Apparel and Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine: Two Plays (TCG) and Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Other Plays (TCG). She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, an alumna of New Dramatists and a graduate oF Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is a visiting lecturer.