Stax Records Musical in the Works from Producer Stuart Benjamin; Eyeing 2016 Broadway Premiere?

Billboard reports that Grammy-winning producer Stuart Benjamin, along with Concord Music Group, is developing a new musical based on the Stax Records music label, with book by Matthew Benjamin and sights on a 2016 Broadway bow.

Billboard describes the setting of the musical as: "Amid the civil rights-era racial strife and deep-seated tensions of the late '50's and '60s, Stax's integrated artist roster and staff fundamentally shaped American soul music, spawning the careers of recording artists, songwriters and producers such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the MG's, The Staple Singers, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, David Porter, Steve Cropper, and Rufus and Carla Thomas, among many others."

Stuart Benjamin's New Visions Entertainment is behind films such as Against All Odds, White Nights, La Bamba, the Academy Award-winning short film Teenage Father and more. As part of New Visions Music Group, Benjamin has worked with stars like Sting, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey and more. He was also instrumental in the biopic Ray, centering on legendary artist Ray Charles, his real-life friend; Benjamin was nominated for an Oscar and won a Grammy Award for his work on the film's soundtrack.

Benjamin's Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara musical is set to launch a 2014 tour following its run at the Geffen Playhouse, and his Unchain My Heart... The Ray Charles Musical previously ran at the Pasadena Playhouse.