Destiny delayed is not destiny denied. Music business mastermind Mathew Knowles knows a thing or two about that. The man who crafted and shaped Destiny’s Child has announced plans to bring the story of the legendary R&B group to the theatrical stage next year.
Titled Survivor: The Destiny’s Child Musical, the musical will be told from Knowles’ perspective and is slated to premiere in Houston in 2020 with additional national and international dates.
“I want to pull back the curtain,” Knowles said in a statement. “I feel it’s time to give the world an opportunity to hear, see and feel the victories and failures that I’ve had as a husband, father and manager who risked everything in pursuit of fulfilling dreams – those of mine and others.”
Urban theater playwright, producer and director Je’Caryous Johnson has been tapped to collaborate with Knowles to bring the story to stage.
A Houston native, Johnson has more than 20 productions under his belt, including Snoop Dogg’s recent foray into theater, Redemption of a Dogg. Johnson also created Set It Off Live, a stage adaptation of the popular 1996 film, which starred original Destiny’s Child member LeToya Luckett.
Knowles managed Destiny’s Child from its inception in 1990. The group was signed to Columbia Records in the mid-1990s and featured Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Letoya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson in its original line-up.
Now mostly recognized as a trio of Knowles, Rowland and Michelle Williams, the group has amassed more than 150 million records worldwide, won multiple Grammy Awards and served as an inspiration to many musical acts.
In 2011, Knowles was terminated by his daughter, who ascended to solo stardom His professional relationships with Rowland and Williams dissolved shortly after.
Since then he’s published The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals and Racism From the Eyes of a Child.
He continues to retain ownership of the Destiny’s Child brand.
