The warriors (and musical theatre fans) came out to play last night at the launch party for Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' new musical Warriors, based on the 1979 cult film The Warriors. The musical, which is first launching as a concept album, was met with applause as the album was played in its entirety at the party—with Broadway stars such as Jasmine Cephas Jones, Amber Gray, and Joshua Henry seen dancing to the beat.
The party took place at Time Out Market New York in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Below, see party attendees, including Hamilton alums Christopher Jackson and Sasha Hutchings, Freestyle Love Supreme's Aneesa Folds, and more.
Lin Manuel-Miranda and Eisa Davis
Jasmine Cephas Jones and Lin Manuel-Miranda
Warriors concept album release party
Nas
Timothy Hughes
Jasmine Cephas Jones
Lin Manuel-Miranda
Eisa Davis, Nas, and Lin Manuel-Miranda
Mike Elizondo, Eisa Davis, and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Mike Elizondo
Aneesa Folds
Kenita Miller
Veronica and Christopher Jackson
Aneesa Folds, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Julia Harriman, Eisa Davis, Kim Dracula, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kenita Miller, Amber Gray, and Sasha Hutchings
Flaco Navaja
Warriors concept album release party
Amber Gray
Mykal Kilgore
Mykal Kilgore and Lin Manuel-Miranda
Lin Manuel-Miranda
Bernie Wagenblast
Eisa Davis
The Warriors album is available to stream now (via Atlantic Records).
As Miranda previously told Playbill, when asked about a future stage version of Warriors, “We don’t have a director, we don’t have a producer, we just have an album."
Added Davis: “We wrote this so that it would be sung through with these little skits,” Davis adds. “We wanted the narrative to be completely apparent and clear just from that. So I don't really know, is there any fat to add? I don't know!”
Grammy Award winner Nas is executive producing the concept album, with Mike Elizondo producing.
The Warriors film, which features a screenplay by David Shaber and Walter Hill adapted from Hill's 1965 novel, follows a NYC street gang traveling from The Bronx to their home neighborhood of Coney Island after being framed for murder. The original film created a brief moral panic over gang violence, leading to a mixed initial reception, but it has since become a cult favorite.
The album features a starry cast of stage favorites and music world icons. The titular Warriors, newly all-female in this musical version, are Jasmine Cephas Jones as Swan, Julia K Harriman as Mercy, Gizel Jiménez as Rembrandt, Amber Gray as Ajax, Aneesa Folds as Cleon, Sasha Hutchings as Cowgirl, Kenita Miller as Cochise, and Phillipa Soo as Fox.
The cast also includes eight-time Grammy-winning rapper Ms. Lauryn Hill as Cyrus of The Gramercy Riffs; Busta Rhymes as The Voice of Brooklyn; Stephen Sanchez as Cal, Joshua Henry as Wanya, Timothy Hughes as Lance, and Daniel Jikal as Joon, collectively the Bizzies; Shenseea as DJ Lynne Pen; Kim Dracula and Alex Boniello as Rogues members Luther and Cropsy, respectively; Nas as Queens; Colman Domingo as Masai of the Gramercy Riffs; Cam'ron as Manhttan; original film stars James Remar and David Patrick Kelly as The Cops; Billy Porter as Grander, Michaela Jaé as Yaya, and Mykal Kilgore as Élan, all members of NYC street gang The Hurricanes; Utkarsh Ambudkar as Sully and Casey Likes as Jesse, both part of rival gang The Orphans; rap artists Ghostface Killah and RZA as the voices of Staten Island; and Marc Anthony as Tato, Luis Figueroa as Miguel, Flaco Navaja as Jesús, and Chris Rivers as The Bronx, each members of Turnbull AC's.
Learn more at WarriorsAlbum.com.
