The Broadway premiere of Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play Choir Boy is set to officially open January 8, 2019, after beginning previews December 12 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The music-filled play, which debuted to critical acclaim Off-Broadway in 2013, follows the hopes and dreams of the young singers at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, an institution dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men.
Directed by Trip Cullman, the cast features Nicholas L. Ashe as Junior Blake, John Clay III as Anthony Justin “AJ” James, Chuck Cooper as Headmaster Marrow, Caleb Eberhardt as David Heard, J. Quinton Johnson as Bobby Marrow, Austin Pendleton as Mr. Pendleton, Jeremy Pope as Pharus Jonathan Young, and ensemble members Daniel Bellomy, Jonathan Burke, Gerald Caesar, Marcus Gladney.
Nicholas L. Ashe, Jonathan Burke, J. Quinton Johnson, Jeremy Pope, Caleb Eberhardt, John Clay III, and Gerald Caesar in Choir Boy
Choir Boy’s creative team includes Jason Michael Webb (music direction, arrangements and original music), David Zinn (scenic and costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), Fitz Patton (original music and sound design), Cookie Jordan (hair and make-up design), Thomas Schall (fight director), and Camille A. Brown (movement).
Ashe, Cooper, Pendleton, and Pope are all returning to the play following the 2013 Off-Broadway production at MTC’s The Studio at Stage II – Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series. The play was commissioned by MTC with support from Time Warner Inc. Support for Choir Boy is provided by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.
