THE STAGE version of The Harder They Come opens at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Canada, in July. It is scheduled to run for six weeks.

"I first saw it in London and thought it was very special. The success of the play has rivaled the original film," said David Mirvish, president of Mirvish Productions, which produces the 2009/2010 Mirvish Theatre Subscription Season.

The musical, which has a cast of black Britons and Jamaicans, debuted in East London theatres in 2006 and has played to appreciative audiences.

Jan Ryan, who produced the play, said she saw the movie in Brixton, England during the early 1970s. Producing it for the stage, she said, was always one of her dreams.

The Harder They Come is one of the great cult films. Directed by Perry Henzell and starring Jimmy Cliff, the movie was released in 1972 to critical international acclaim.

Its soundtrack, driven by songs like Pressure Drop (Toots and the Maytals), Sitting in Limbo and the title song (done by Cliff) is rated among the best of its kind.

Cliff has seen the stage version of The Harder They Come, which stars Rolan Bell in the lead role of Ivan. Henzell died in 2007.