CHAUTAUQUA – The Chautauqua Theater Company, the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, is commissioning and developing a musical adaptation of The Crossover, the critically acclaimed novel by Kwame Alexander, New York Times best-selling author and Chautauqua Institution’s Michael I. Rudell artistic director of literary arts and writer-in-residence.

Jade King Carroll, producing artistic director of the Chautauqua Theater Company, has focused on commissioning, developing and producing works from new and established American playwrights, including Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark, C.A. Johnson’s Tell Me You’re Dying, and Alexander’s The Crossover.

“Chautauqua is the perfect place for an extraordinary partnership like this to flourish. I have been delighted to see the remarkable synergy between luminary Alexander and CTC,” said Deborah Sunya Moore, Chautauqua Institution senior vice president and chief program officer. “We are deeply honored to be a home for the creation of new works by contemporary visionaries like Kwame. Jade’s bold vision for CTC is coming to life, and this new commission is a testament to her leadership, driving the company forward with powerful stories that resonate.”

The Crossover is a captivating coming-of-age story about basketball, brotherhood, and life on and off the court. Written in dynamic verse, the novel follows the lives of 12-year-old twins Josh and Jordan Bell, both skilled athletes whose world changes as they navigate adolescence, family relationships, and their love for the game.

“It was clear after our first meeting that we hold a shared understanding and joy for storytelling,” said Carroll of her collaboration with Alexander. “We both feel that there is no other place to Chautauqua Theater Company to Commission Musical Adaptation of Kwame Alexander’s ‘The Crossover’ develop this novel into a new musical than the Chautauqua Theater Company. The unique environment that Chautauqua Institution provides cannot be replicated.”