Basketball on Broadway? It’s Coming in March!

There are few basketball storylines that are as beloved as the one involving Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and now, that story will be acted out onstage in the Broadway musical “Magic/Bird.” The play will showcase these two superstars beginning with the classic 1979 title game between the two, in which Bird played for Indiana State and Johnson played for Michigan State. Of course from there it will feature the NBA run of both, interjected with lots of music and theatrics along the way.

One of the most interesting parts of the play is that Delvon Roe will be taking on the role of Johnson. Roe once played for Michigan State, just like the icon he’s portraying, and has now also turned superstar, albeit this time on a stage rather than on a court. The show is also appropriate as Bird was once called “the Great White Hope,” and now his story is headed to the Great White Way.

The cast will include only a total of six characters, but there will be many more people than that working on it. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who still remain friends, are helping with the creative process and to fill in pieces of the storyline, as well is the NBA. The characters making up the cast are said to be the roles of Larry Bird’s mom, Magic Johnson’s agent, and Michael Cooper, former Boston Celtics owner. The show is set to open in the middle of March.

The only question that remains is: how well will basketball translate onto the Broadway stage?

Categorized in: NBA