By: Sarah Zhong

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, has been the subject of movies, immersive experiences, T-shirts, and tote bags. But that’s not all. Last Thursday, it was announced that Kahlo’s life story would be made into a musical.

The production is expected to go on Broadway in 2024 after regional tryouts next year. It will follow Kahlo’s life from Mexican City to New York and back to the infamous “Blue House” where she was born and died in 1954. The show is titled “Frida, The Musical” and will include music by Jaime Lozano, lyrics by playwright Neena Beber, and will be produced by Valentina Berger.

“In all the stories I heard when I was a little child, our family remembered Aunt Frida as a very joyful woman,” said Mara Romeo Kahlo, universal heiress to the Frida Kahlo legacy. “She was passionate about music, arts, and Mexican culture. ‘Frida, The Musical’ honors everything she was: a real woman who fought for her dreams, loved like anybody else, and always lived ahead of her time.”

Berger said, “Everyone knows a colder Frida, a suffering Frida, but she loved life. She was really, really fun. That’s what we want to portray. I used to have a sad view of Frida, like, ‘Oh, the poor woman.’ Now, knowing how she was so smart and so clever, I look up to her.”

Beber, the scriptwriter, is eager to capture Kahlo’s funny side, which she believes is often overseen. “I really connected to her humor,” she said. “I don’t think I knew how funny she was-that she had this wry, dry sense of humor. She really was of the people.”

Lozano visited the Kahlo family, who asked him to compose the music. The composer said he relates to Kahlo, who was, like him, a Mexican immigrant in New York.

He said, “She is such an inspiration, not only as an artist but also as a warrior. With everything she went through, she kept fighting, making her own art, telling her own story. As a Mexican, to be telling this story and bringing this authenticity to the show, I feel really honored.”

Many people cannot wait for the musical, and a sense of excitement is bubbling up. Ten songs have been completed already. This new perspective on Kahlo’s life will be a very exciting addition to her legacy.