It was a
YouTube clip that decided who would be Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Bob Marley.
The video (below) shows singer Mitchell Brunings belting out “Redemption Song” on the Dutch version of the reality TV show
The Voice.
“I was mesmerized,” said Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of Center Stage, who also wrote and directed the musical
Marley, which begins previews May 6. “I jumped on a plane and dashed to Holland to see him immediately.”
“Having auditioned actors around the world for this role, I knew right away that he was a natural,” he continued in a news release.
Marley is the first stage production to combine the legendary reggae musician and activist’s life story with his music, including songs from Exodus, Kaya and Rastaman Vibration. It focuses on a period in the 1970s when Marley spent two years in self-imposed exile in London following an assassination attempt.
Brunings’ 2013 “Redemption Song” performance garnered 35 million viewers on YouTube. He has since toured worldwide, covering songs by Marley, whom he considers his idol.
“Bob Marley is a huge inspiration in my life and it’s an overwhelming honor to be playing the legend,” Brunings said in the release.
Marley will run through June 14.