Hip-hop musical 'Young John Lewis' makes world premiere in Atlanta

'Young John Lewis' makes world premiere in Atlanta

The hip-hop musical coming to Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit focuses on an early decade in the life of John Lewis, the late civil rights activist and politician who died in 2020.

ATLANTA - The man who’s inspired countless Americans to get in "good trouble" is now the inspiration behind a musical making its world premiere in Atlanta this week.

"Young John Lewis" begins previews at Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit tomorrow, with the official opening performance set for Saturday, June 7 and shows scheduled to continue through Sunday, June 29. The hip-hop musical focuses on an early decade in the life of John Lewis, the late civil rights activist and politician who passed away in 2020. 

Creators say the show specifically traces his arc from student activist to leader in the civil rights movement — and does so through an original book and lyrics by hip-hop and spoken word playwright Psalmayene 24 and music by composer Eugene H. Russell IV.

"Young John Lewis" is being produced by Theatrical Outfit in partnership with the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation, the nonprofit created by the congressman to continue what he called a "passion for purposeful living." The show is directed and choreographed by Thomas W. Jones II, and stars Michael Bahsil in the title role; in a video posted by Theatrical Outfit to Facebook, Bahsil says, "John Lewis is an icon to me because he is a person of sacrifice. He made so many sacrifices … and just wanted to be a person to move us, as a people, forward."

Performances of "Young John Lewis" will take place on the stage at The Balzer Theater at Herren’s (84 Luckie Street Northwest in Downtown Atlanta). For more information on showtimes and tickets, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning getting an exclusive live preview of this world premiere "Made in Atlanta" musical.