Beyonce’s Dad to Reveal All in Destiny’s Child Musical — Focused on Himself
Houston Gets the Show First, Then Broadway
BY Annie Gallay // 04.30.19It's unclear if Destiny's Child's members will be involved in the musical.
Few people on the planet are as influential in pop culture as Beyoncé. Whether you’re a proud member of the Beyhive or just don’t get the hype, everyone has something to say about the superstar.
That would include her father, Mathew Knowles, who plans to share his take in an epic — and potentially lucrative — way.
Knowles is plotting a bio-show charting the history and evolution of Destiny’s Child — sort of.
If you’re looking for insights from Bey, Michelle or Kelly in Survivor: The Destiny’s Child Musical, which is scheduled to premiere in Houston in 2020 before moving to Broadway and London’s West End, you may be disappointed.
The supreme songstress’ father released a statement making it all too clear that the story is about his perspective and his impressions. He has teamed up with a native Houstonian, writer/director/producer Je’Caryous of Redemption of a Dogg, on the script that is still in the works. Casting hasn’t been done yet.
It’s unclear whether the queen herself or any of the other former Destiny’s Child members — not just counting Rowland and Williams — will be directly involved.
Knowles did tell Page Six that he’d “directly and indirectly” discussed the project with Beyoncé, along with Rowland and Williams, but so far none of the artists have commented on it. He also noted he’s happy to have the band members be as involved, or uninvolved, as they’d like.
It should be interesting to watch this story unfold. Beyoncé’s steadfast commitment to controlling her image is well-known. She is something of an Independent Woman, after all.
“I want to pull back the curtain. I feel it’s time to give the world and opportunity to hear, see and feel the victories and failures I’ve had as a husband, father and manager who risked everything in pursuit of fulfilling dreams — those of mine and others,” Knowles says in a statement.
Of course, news of anything involving multi-Grammy winners Destiny’s Child is sure to generate buzz. But it’s unclear if people will be drawn to Beyoncé’s father’s view.
The father-daughter relationship has been rocky, with Knowles stepping back as manager in 2011, the same year he divorced Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles.
In this musical’s namesake, Beyoncé sings “My momma taught me better than that.” Her references to her father aren’t as glowing. Consider “Daddy Lessons” from the revolutionary “Lemonade.”
Diehard fans believe that what starts as reminiscing as “daddy’s little girl” quickly turns to veiled commentary about Knowles’ alleged infidelity.
All the same, Beyoncé shared a rare photo of herself with her father backstage at the On The Run Tour 2’s final concert in 2018.
And this may not be the first time Mathew Knowles has floated the idea of a Destiny’s Child-focused show. Jezebel reported years ago that the Sony hack’s leaked messages referenced a potential musical of this kind back in 2013.
Destiny’s Child may have broken up, but all of them, and Mathew Knowles, have kept on survivin’.