A NEW HIP-HOP MUSICAL

ONE, The Hip-Hop Dance Musical is a Black urban hip-hop “remix” of the 4,000-year-old story of Moses, re-told as if it occurred today in New York, NY. For instance, ‘Pharaoh’ is a CEO of an international financial corporation…’slavery’ is the world addiction industry in all its forms (drugs, porn, etc)…and ’Moses’ is “MO” a socially conscious teen rapper & hip-hop star. ONE, though not ‘religious’, presents an anti-drug message with universal social justice themes surrounding race, class, and the abuse of power. Written entirely in verse and with clever ‘spoken word-choreography,’ ONE uses hot hip-hop dance and mind-blowing graffiti through the use of state of the art video/projection. ONE’s music is propelled by DJs, MCs and searing rap. ONE creatively transforms this ancient classic, “hit story” into a unforgettable spiritual theater experience for all.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

ONE began with a $100k grant from Steven Spielberg via his personal foundation.* Spielberg’s gift was immediately matched with a $100k grant from Jubilee Christian Church, a Boston inner city Black church of 6,000 members. This allowed the creative team to transform the work from an earlier narrated concert version** into a fully viable musical, with the addition of extensive choreography. Working intensely with eight select first-company Alvin Ailey dancers, Ailey’s lighting designer, Al Crawford, and with outstanding hip-hop crews, the team developed the dance portion of ONE via four staged workshop performances. These took place in Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard and then in New York City at the JCC of Manhattan Theater and at the new Alvin Ailey Theater. Darren Henson, hip-hop choreographer extraordinaire and actor, choreographed a fifth workshop at Ailey Studios. At the same time, Director Keith Batten, who directs all international productions of Aida for Disney Theatrical, guided the development of the script over two years of revisions.

OUR VISION FOR ONE

Our vision is to bring ONE to youth all over the world, via a ONE Broadway production and a ONE movie.