New Musical Based On Classic Novel Arrives Off Broadway This Fall

Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage teams up with Grammy Award winning superstar John Legend for this musical adaptation of Fanny Hurst's classic novel, opening at The Shed in Fall 2026. Telling the story of two mothers, one black and one white, whose lives intertwine in the early 20th century, Imitation Of Life will be directed by Tony Award nominee Leisl Tommy.

What Is The Story?

Life on the Jersey Shore is tough for Bea. In the depths of the 1910s, Bea finds herself married off to one of her father's acquaintances and pregnant. But when her new husband dies and her father is left unable to walk, Bea has to care for him and her newborn child alone. Desperate for help, she hires Delilah - a young black woman and fellow single mother - who also helps her start a business making waffles. As their lives twist together in unexpected ways, they will see that tragedy is always somewhere on the horizon.