New Musical From John Legend and Lynn Nottage, Imitation of Life, Will Premiere at The Shed This Fall | Playbill
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New Musical From John Legend and Lynn Nottage, Imitation of Life, Will Premiere at The Shed This Fall

It is based on Fannie Hurst's novel and the Universal Pictures film.

February 12, 2026 By Meg Masseron, Logan Culwell-Block

Imitation of Life, a new musical featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and featuring music and lyrics by EGOT winner John Legend, will make its premiere this fall at Off Broadway's The Shed for a four-week limited engagement. 

Based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel (and the 1934 and 1959 Universal Pictures films) of the same title, it follows a Black mother and a white mother both struggling to raise their daughters in a world shaped by inequalities, set against the backdrop of 1920s Atlantic City and 1930s New York. Tony Award nominee Liesl Tommy will direct the production.

“While the novel’s narrative is very much a product of its time, its themes of race, class, and gender in America continue to resonate today. As artists, we are drawn to Imitation of Life’s enduring emotional power and its potential to be reimagined in ways that feel both contemporary and urgent. It has been a profound joy to collaborate on bringing this story to the stage, and we are thrilled to premiere this musical at The Shed, where we look forward to sharing the beautiful and deeply moving journey of Delilah and Peola Johnston with audiences,” said Nottage, Legend, and Tommy in a joint statement.

Casting, further creative team information, and run dates will be revealed at a later date. 

This project is a brainchild of Tommy and dates back to at least 2023. It will mark the first musical written by singer-songwriter Legend, who became an EGOT winner in 2018 with his Tony win as a producer on Manhattan Theatre Club's Jitney. He also supplied a song to 2017's SpongeBob SquarePants and starred in the title role of Jesus Christ Superstar for NBC's 2018 live TV production.

Nottage made her Broadway debut with 2017's Pulitzer-winning and Tony-nominated Sweat. Her play Clyde's made a Broadway bow in 2021 via Second Stage Theater, and she penned the book to jukebox biomusical MJ The Musical—which continues its Broadway run.

Tommy made her Broadway debut in 2016 directing Eclipsed by Danai Gurira and starring Lupita Nyong'o. It made history as the first play on Broadway created by and starring a team of Black women. Tommy was nominated for a Tony Award for her direction of Eclipsed.

National Black Theatre, John Legend and Mike Jackson of Get Lifted Film Co., Crocodile Eyes, Universal Theatrical Group (UTG), Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon of LD Entertainment and The Shed serve as producers.

For more information, visit here.

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