Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks explores archetypes of Black America in The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, which officially opens Off-Broadway November 13. The play began performances October 25 at the Signature Theatre, where Parks is a resident playwright, with direction by Lileana Blain-Cruz.
Billed as a “riotous theatrical event,” the show is staged in the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center and runs through December 4.
The cast is made up of Hamilton’s Daniel J. Watts, William DeMeritt (HBO’s The Normal Heart), Nike Kadri (Iphigenia in Aulis), Patrena Murray (Father Comes Home from the Wars), Reynaldo Piniella (The Erlkings at Theatre Row), Julian Rozzell (Father Comes Home from the Wars), Roslyn Ruff (The Piano Lesson), Mirirai Sithole (Mother Courage and Her Children), David Ryan Smith (The Comedy of Errors), Jamar Williams (Invisible Thread), and Amelia Workman (The Layover).
Here’s how Signature describes Parks’ play: “A woman tries to feed her husband a fried drumstick. Dragons roam a flat earth. The last Black man in the whole entire world dies again. And again. Careening through memory and language, Parks explores and explodes archetypes of Black America with piercing insight and raucous comedy. A riotous theatrical event, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World hums with the heartbeat of improvisational jazz.”
Scroll through production photos below:
The design team includes Riccardo Hernandez (scenic design), Montana Blanco (costume design), Yi Zhao (lighting design), Palmer Hefferan (sound design), Hannah Wasileski (projection design), Raja Feather Kelly (movement), and Cookie Jordan (wig design). Terri K. Kohler is the production stage manager. Casting is by Telsey + Company.
Parks is a current Residency One playwright at the Signature. Her plays Venus, The Red Letter Plays: In the Blood, and Fucking A will be staged in 2017.
To purchase tickets call Ticket Services at (212) 244-7529 or visit SignatureTheatre.org. The Pershing Square Signature Center is located at 480 West 42nd Street, New York.
