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Saul Williams Discusses Failed Tupac Broadway Show

07/23/2014
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(Radio.com) The world wasn't ready for a Tupac musical on Broadway, apparently. After only 55 performances, the Broadway production Holler If Ya Hear Me, starring Saul Williams as an ex-con trying to get back on track, closed on Sunday.

While lead producer Eric L. Gold cited the "the financial burdens of Broadway" as the reason the production shuttered, Williams has his own theories.

The spoken word artist thinks the play struggled because it touched on an uncomfortable topic. "The idea of having a play that centers around, How do you stop the cycles of gun violence in our community? It's weird to hear someone feel like the story is generic when it's the front page of every f-king paper to date," he told Rolling Stone, adding, "I also cannot go without saying that there was something deeply embedded in a lot of the reviews that went deeper than just a dislike of the play."

Williams even revealed that the production team had an inkling the musical wasn't going to be well-received. "We've known what was going on all along," he added. "Every day at rehearsal, Kenny Leon was saying, "Let's be very clear with the fact that this play is probably going to be hated coming out the gates." more on this story

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