Outlaw Sisters, Ledisi and Luke James Take Wanted to West 48th

West 48th Street gets an outlaw story on Thursday, and two of its leads are R&B stars.

*Wanted* begins Broadway previews October 15 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 West 48th Street, according to the show's official site. Opening night is November 8, per BroadwayWorld. Playbill has called it the first new musical of the Broadway season.

Angelica Chéri wrote the book and lyrics. Ross Baum wrote the music. The story follows Mary and Martha Clarke, Black twin sisters who passed as white in 1893 Texas, as Playbill reported when the leads were announced in March.

It is also a family story. BroadwayWorld reports that the twins were the aunts of Chéri's paternal grandmother, who passed the tale down to her.

The show has traveled. It played Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in the spring of 2024 under its original title, *Gun & Powder*.

Two Voices, One Marquee

Ledisi plays Tallulah Clarke, the mother of the sisters. BroadwayWorld describes her as a Grammy winner and 16-time nominee, and says her sound blends R&B, soul, jazz, gospel and blues. That is a lot of range for a score that has to cover both an outlaw tale and a torch song.

"My first Broadway principal role, and I still can't believe it," Ledisi said when her casting was announced in May, as BroadwayWorld reported.

"My first Broadway principal role, and I still can't believe it."

Luke James plays Elijah. He is a three-time Grammy nominee, known on screen for *The Chi*, and made his Broadway debut in *Thoughts of a Colored Man* in 2021, according to Broadway News. He is not new to the show. Playbill lists him as Elijah in a June 2025 workshop.

Solea Pfeiffer is Mary and Liisi LaFontaine is Martha. LaFontaine played Martha at Paper Mill too. Bradley Jaden is Jesse. A chorus called the Kinfolk plays the ancestors who guide the sisters, per BroadwayWorld. Stevie Walker-Webb directs, and Chelsey Arce choreographs.

The Score Behind the Story

The company gave the press a taste on September 29, according to Playbill. They sang three songs, "Prologue," "Inheritance" and "Under a Different Sun."

The music team is deep. Playbill lists orchestrations by John Clancy, arrangements by Baum and Austin Cook, music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo and music direction by Paul Byssainthe Jr.

One song carries particular weight. In a BroadwayWorld video, Chéri and Baum explain that "The Way I Am" began as a short Act Two number for a minor character. Baum says Robert O'Hara pushed them to give it to Mary and build it out. Baum recalls O'Hara's verdict in three words. "That's her Tony."

Chéri says the aim was the feel of a jazz standard torch song. The lyrics stay sparse on purpose. The song is about wanting to be seen, accepted and loved, not about plot.

A five-song studio EP is already out. Playbill lists "Wide Open Plains," "The Train," "Gun & Powder," "The Way I Am" and "Freedom." Broadway critics weigh in after November 8.

What to Know Before You Go

The James Earl Jones Theatre has a long night life of its own. It opened in 1912 as the Cort, with *Peg o' My Heart*. *The Merv Griffin Show* was taped there from 1969 to 1972, and the house took its current name in 2022.

Tickets are sold through Telecharge, linked from the official site. The nearest trains are the N, R and W at 49th Street and the B, D, F and M at 47th to 50th Streets Rockefeller Center.

For another Broadway show built on music from somewhere else, see Gina Torres joining Buena Vista Social Club.

*Wanted*, the marquee says. On West 48th Street, that sounds more like an invitation.