Broadway NewsBroadway-Bound Pass Over Plans Early Start, Beginning Previews in AugustOff-Broadway cast members Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood, and Gabriel Ebert will reprise their roles in the Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu play.
By
Dan Meyer
June 01, 2021
Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood in Pass OverJeremy Daniel
Mark your calendars: Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over will begin previews August 4 ahead of an opening night September 12 at the August Wilson Theatre. It's the earliest start date yet for a Broadway production since the COVID-19 pandemic kept theatres dark for nearly 15 months and counting.
The entire Off-Broadway cast will reunite for the production: Tony nominee Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood, and Tony winner Gabriel Ebert. The staging will mark the Broadway debuts of Nwandu, Smallwood, and director Danya Taymor.
Namir Smallwood and Gabriel Ebert
Jeremy Daniel
Tickets will go on sale June 4 at 10 AM ET. Based on CDC and New York State guidelines at the time of performance, protocols may include (but are not limited to) mask requirements, increased cleaning and ventilation enhancements, and vaccination or negative test verification.
Inspired by both Waiting for Godot and the Exodus saga, the play follows Moses and Kitch, two young Black men who dream of an existence beyond their street corner. After premiering at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the play opened Off-Broadway in 2018 as part of Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 programming. A few months prior, a film version of the Chicago staging, directed by Spike Lee, debuted at Sundance Film Festival. It is now available to stream as an Amazon Prime original.
As previously announced, Nwandu has modified the play between its iterations. "Though much about Pass Over remains a lament over the lives of Black people stolen too soon, I am happy to confirm that my team and I, along with our producers, are presenting a new version that centers the health, hope, and joy of our audiences, especially Black people,” the playwright said in an earlier statement. “We are reuniting to envision this play again, to tell a version of the story on Broadway where Moses and Kitch both survive their encounter with white oppression.”
Returning creative team members include scenic designer Wilson Chin, costume designer Sarafina Bush, lighting designer Marcus Doshi, and sound designer Justin Ellington. Casting is by Erica A. Hart, Camille Hickman and Daniel Swee.
Pass Over will be produced on Broadway by Matt Ross, Jujamcyn Theaters, Lincoln Center Theater, Concord Theatricals, Renee Montgomery, Blair Underwood, Madeleine Foster Bersin, Imagine Equal Entertainment, Austin & Maral Moldow, and Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu.
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