“It was the 1972 movie that took reggae to the world.” Now The Harder They Come is touring the United Kingdom as a live musical. Following triumphant performances in London’s West End, Toronto, and Miami, a national tour of this iconic reggae musical will take place this summer, from May to July 2010. The story of a Jamaican rebel-with-a-cause is now being spectacularly staged with an acclaimed cast and full reggae band, the music comes alive in a powerful and life-affirming drama of broken dreams, wasted youth, and redemption.

The Harder They Come is the acclaimed adaptation of the groundbreaking film starring Jimmy Cliff, which included his classic songs “You Can Get It If You Really Want It,” “Rivers of Babylon,” and “The Harder They Come,” among other hits that “remain as inspirational and relevant as when they were first written in the aftermath of Jamaica’s early years of Independence.” The musical also serves also a springboard for reflection on “contemporary Britain’s ongoing issues of social exclusion, poverty, and inner-city breakdown.”

Producer Jan Ryan (UK Arts International) says that “It is the first genuine black Caribbean musical to be staged in the UK. Through Perry Henzell’s creative vision and supported by a top production team, the live show has an authenticity and truthfulness which energizes audiences as much as the performers. And though the songs were all written in the early seventies they’re still as fresh today – not just with an audience that remembers them from their youth, but with a young audience – black and white – that identifies with these timeless popular classics.”

For more information and tour dates, see http://www.itzcaribbean.com/thehardertheycome