RAY CHARLES Musical Producer Sues Investor for Fraud

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ray Charles LIVE! producer Stuart Benjamin is suing his primary investor, Maurice Grant, for fraud, and is demanding $20 million in damages. Grant reportedly  'promised him $9 million in several installments to get Ray Charles Live! to Broadway'. Grant's first payment of $150,000 never cleared, and he never received a $2 million payment from February.

Ray Charles Live! -- A New Musical, a musical biography of soul legend Ray Charles, received its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse on November 9th 2007.

The show is loosely based on the recent hit film Ray and its producing team is also involved in the new stage musical. Stuart Benjamin, Howard and Karen Baldwin and Steve Markoff, along with Ray Charles' longtime manager Joe Adams, will help to present Ray Charles Live! - A New Musical.  Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for his performance in the title role of the 2004 film.

The stage musical features songs by the late Charles (who passed away in 2004) and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog).  Pasadena Playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps directs.

"We didn't want to lift the movie and put it on a stage.  And we don't shy away from things, the womanizing, the drug use. But the play focuses more on the music. It's more personal," stated Benjamin.

The show features a cast of 20, with a band of between 8 and 12 musicians.  The show will include choreography by Ken Roberson, sets by Riccardo Hernandez, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Donald Holder and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler.