Hustle The Musical will debut at THEARC in Washington, D.C., on July 2nd-3rd at 7 p.m. This production is inspired by HUSTLE the novel written by first-time author and beauty entrepreneur Nikki Fortune.
Set in Hustle, Virginia, a small, non-progressive town, starting in the late 1930s, HUSTLE is a brilliantly entwined tale of a poverty-stricken family—the Fortune family. It passionately narrates the sacrifices women make to provide better lives for their families.
“HUSTLE is a story of being able to find yourself only when you leave everything you know behind. Each character will resonate in your life, reminding you of family, friends and stories that make up the diaspora of the rich African-American experience,” Executive Producer Nikki Fortune said.“I was inspired to write the novel because I wanted to pay homage to my great aunts and grandmother. I thought that infusing some of their stories and my imagination into a novel would make it relatable for people who had the same or similar experiences dealing with migration.”
According to Fortune, adapting the novel into a musical was solely the idea of her high school friend Desi P. Shelton (writer/director) and her partner, Jamal P. Dickerson (composer/lyricist/musical director).
“I love the story of the great migration. It is intriguing and complex, and the thought of it makes me smile at the strength of such a resilient people,” Shelton said. She continued, “It was challenging to complement the storytelling without deviating too far from the book but also giving the other collaborators of the project space for the story to come through. Fortunately, I was able to find that balance, and the finished result is an incredible theatrical production.”
