Everything you need to know about 'Wanted' on Broadway

Wanted is an original musical inspired by the true story of Mary and Martha Clarke, two African American twin sisters living in post-Civil War Texas in 1893. In an effort to settle their mother's sharecropper debt and stop her from losing her home, the sisters pass as white and become outlaws.

Wanted plays at the James Earl Jones Theatre, located at 138 West 48th St. between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Formerly called the Cort Theatre after impresario John Cort, the venue opened in 1912. In 2022, following renovations, the theatre was renamed for Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner James Earl Jones.

Recent productions at the theatre include The Fear of 13, Liberation, Real Women Have Curves, Left on Tenth, The Heart of Rock and Roll, and Gutenberg! The Musical!

Wanted runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.

Wanted is recommended for ages 10+ due to themes of violence, but there is no explicit language. Please note that children under 4 are not permitted in Broadway theatres.

Wanted runs Tuesday through Sunday, with two performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With the exception of some holiday scheduling, there are no performances on Mondays.

This schedule is subject to one-off changes. Please visit our Wanted page for a complete performance calendar.

Wanted made its world premiere under the title Gun & Powder at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2020, followed by a 2024 run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse.

The 2026 Broadway production at the James Earl Jones Theatre, with the new title Wanted, starts October 15, 2026.

Wanted is written by Angelica Chéri (book and lyrics) and Ross Baum (music). The show marks the duo’s Broadway debuts.

Originally titled Gun & Powder: The Legend of the Sisters Clarke, Chéri conceived the show as her thesis for the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Chéri is the great-great-niece of Mary and Martha Clarke, and she grew up hearing stories about them. Events in her and Baum's show are described as being “mostly true.”

Wanted revolves around Black twin sisters in 1890s Texas who pass for white when they’re compelled to become outlaws. The musical's main characters include their family members and acquaintances.

• Martha Clarke: The cautious twin who’s protective of her sister.
• Mary Clarke: The bolder twin who embraces the power that comes with passing as white.
• Tallulah Clarke: The twins’ mother, a Black sharecropper struggling under debt to her white landlord.
• Jesse Whitewater: A white saloon owner attracted to Mary.
• Elijah: A Black man who works for Jesse and gets involved with Martha.
• Flo: A hotel maid who works for Jesse.
• Sissy: Another maid who works for Jesse.

The Wanted Broadway cast is led by Liisi LaFontaine as Martha, Solea Pfeiffer as Mary, Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Ledisi as Talullah, Luke James as Elijah, Awa Sal Secka as Flo, and Aurelia Williams as Sissy.

LaFontaine and Secka make their Broadway debuts with Wanted, and LaFontaine, Williams, and Secka reprise their roles from previous iterations of the musical.

Angelica Chéri and Ross Baum's songs for Wanted feature a varied roundup of soulful and bluesy ballads, raunchy saloon numbers, and gospel-tinged spirituals and choral pieces. The score’s various styles represent different communities in the story.

Below is the song list from the Paper Mill Playhouse run. It is subject to change for the Broadway production and will be updated accordingly once performances start.

Act 1

• "Prologue"
• "Cotton"
• "Wide-Open Plains"
• "The Train"
• "Just Passing Through"
• "Gun & Powder"
• "Frenchman Father"
• "Dirty Shame"
• "Dangerous"
• "Invisible"
• "Destiny"
• "Exactly His Type"
• "Real Man"
• "The Way I Am"
• "Trigger"

Act 2

• "The Shot That Shook The Soul"
• "Dirty Shame (Reprise)"
• "Under a Different Sun"
• "Split"
• "Traitor"
• "Martha's Curse"
• "Mary’s Nightmare"
• "Freedom"
• "Even Human"
• "All of Me"

Wanted, which was previously called Gun & Powder, has been fine-tuned in developmental runs and residencies at several theatres since 2015. Along the way, there have been major rewrites, name changes, and big breakthroughs.

• 2020: The musical makes its world premiere with the title Gun & Powder at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.
• 2024: Gun & Powder runs at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey from April 4 to May 5.
• 2026: Wanted’s Broadway premiere begins October 15 at the James Earl Jones Theatre.

During its development, Wanted won a 2018 Richard Rodgers Award honoring new works, and it was selected for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals.

Wanted on Broadway will be in the running for the 2026-27 season’s upcoming New York awards, including Tony Awards.

There is no movie version of the Wanted musical. There are films with the same title, including a 2008 thriller with James McAvoy and a 1967 Italian Western, but they’re not affiliated with the Broadway show.

Wanted is set in 1893 Texas, but its story of family and survival reverberates further. Learn more about the show, including a cinematic sisterhood and what’s behind the original title.

• Angelica Chéri has described the Clarke sisters as a Black Thelma and Louise of sorts, referring to the joyriding title characters from a 1991 film.
• Gun & Powder, as the show was first called, captures differences between the twins and they dusted up to pass as white.
• Wanted joins a posse of other Broadway musicals with Western themes, including Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, and Paint Your Wagon.

Get Wanted tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Wanted rides onto Broadway with an original score and story about sisters, survival, identity, and love you won’t want to miss.