Frida Kahlo Musical Is Making Its Way To Broadway

The unsung bits of Frida Kahlo’s life, including her more joyful moments, will be immortalized in a new production called Frida, The Musical, poised to head to Broadway in 2024.

As Deadline reports, the bio-musical will paint a picture of the beloved Mexican artist’s journey from her hometown to Paris and New York and back, delving into her rise to prominence, her push-and-pull relationship with Diego Rivera, and exploring her unmatched ability to convert physical and emotional pain into beauty.

The production will be “a full-throated celebration of Kahlo’s joyous spirit of creativity,” says the synopsis. It will be produced by Broadway veteran Valentina Berger, and is the first to get the stamp of approval by the Frida Kahlo estate, which will add color and clarity to the artist’s story with rarely-seen material.

Mexican composer Jamie Lozano will provide the score, with playwright Neena Beber creating the lyrics. Some of the story is based on accounts from Intimate Frida, the memoir of Kahlo’s niece Isolda. In-person conversations between Berger, Lozano, and the Kahlo family in Mexico help connect the dots to details that outsiders haven’t been privy to.

Frida, The Musical will celebrate a side of the painter that has pretty much been lost to the past, overshadowed by stories of her injuries and struggles with polio. “She loved life,” Berger emphasizes with the Washington Post. Kahlo was “really, really fun,” the musical’s producer adds, asserting that the Broadway musical will revive these facets of the artist.

[via The Art Newspaper, Deadline, Time Out, cover photo 123698627 © Paulo Quiros | Dreamstime.com]