Beastie Boys Musical to Open in London

Image by YouTube

By Gabe Friedman November 4, 2015

(JTA) — A musical play based on the lives and careers of the influential hip-hop group The Beastie Boys is to open in London.

“Licensed to Ill,” named after the group’s first album, is scheduled to run from Nov. 23 to Dec. 12 at the Camden People’s Theater.

The three core members of The Beastie Boys – Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz – were all Jewish and raised in New York City.

Yauch died of cancer in 2012, and the group disbanded.

The Beastie Boys outlasted most hip-hop acts of their era, having started in the early 80s. They are known for combining elements of punk rock with the sounds of early hip-hop.

“‘Licensed to Ill’ travels through time from the hiphoppers of ‘80s New York to the ‘90s gangsters of LA – all the way to the total globalization of hiphop … we follow the gang from teenage punks, via their discovery by legendary producer Rick Rubin, to their induction in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame,” a promotional description of the show says.

The Beastie Boys are reportedly not involved in the show, which is a co-production of the theatre and artistic directors Simon Maeder and Adam El Hagar — with help from comedy duos Abandonman and the Rubberbandits.

“Whilst we have ensured the Beastie Boys are fully appraised of our plans for the show, this is an unauthorised production based on the Beastie Boys story,” co-creative director Simon Maeder told Pitchfork.

Gabe Friedman is JTA’s senior Jewish hip hop correspondant.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO