Bud, Not Buddy was adapted for the stage by Reginald Andre Jackson[17] for Black History Month, in Fremont, California. The production premiered in 2006 at the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center. It has been produced several times, including at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Main Street Theatre in Houston, the University of Michigan-Flint and Children's Theatre of Charlotte. Jackson's adaptation was published by Dramatic Publishing in 2009, it won the Distinguished Play Award (Adaptation) from The American Alliance for Theatre and Education in 2010.[17]
In January 2017, an adaptation of the novel premiered at Eisenhower Theater in The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts; it was a blend of jazz concert and theater. The music was composed by Terence Blanchard and the script was written by Kirsten Greenidge. Actors and musicians shared the stage instead of being separated by a stage and orchestra pit. The adaptation added live music written specifically to highlight the jazz world in Michigan where Bud went to find the musician he thought was his father. The score was composed to be played by high school bands in future productions, and it was written to be a challenging score for students.[18][19]
