Musical Adaptation of Boxing Documentary When We Were Kings Eyes Off-Broadway Run

A musical adaptation of the 1996 Oscar-winning documentary When We Were Kings is in the works, according to Variety. The new musical will tell the story of "the Rumble in the Jungle," the famed 1974 boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Zaire. The adaptation will feature hit songs from the ‘70s. Although producer David Sonenberg is reportedly attached to the production, no writer has been announced. When We Were Kings hopes to open off-Broadway in 2014. No theater, exact dates or cast have been announced.

“The story fuses music, sports, dance, politics, race and culture in a way that should appeal to a broad, pan-generational audience,” Sonenberg told the newspaper of the in-the-works musical.

The cast of characters featured in the musical adaptation will include Foreman and Ali as well as a variety of well-known personalities who appeared in the documentary such as James Brown, George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and fight promoter Don King. The original documentary featured music from Brown, the Pointer Sisters, B.B. King and Bill Withers, who performed live music at the boxing match.