The original Broadway production of "Sarafina!" opened at the Cort Theater in New York on January 28, 1988, ran for 597 performances and was nominated for the 1988 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Score. Dumisani Dlamini, Leleti Khumalo, Nhlanhla Ngema and 'Mbongeni Ngema'
recreated their roles in the movie version. A nomination for the 1988 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical went to Leleti Khumalo.
Film composer Stanley Myer's last scored film.
Dumisani Dlamini, the South African actor who played the role as Crocodile, is the father of American singer and rapper, Doja Cat, born as Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, who, more than two decades after the films release, met his co-star, Whoopi Goldberg, unrelatedly. Amala pointed this out during their encounter, adding: "isn't that crazy? And I didn't get to meet him, but you did".
A year after making a deal with Disney on distribution of the film, Miramax was acquired by Disney.