BREAKING NEWS: Despite not having taken home any Tony Awards last night, Jeremy O. Harris’ powerful 12 time nominated Slave Play has gotten an unforgettable overwhelming response from our Theater community. It has just been announced that the play itself will be returning to Broadway this Fall for a limited 8 WEEK ENGAGEMENT!!!!
Under the direction of Tony Award nominee Robert O’Hara, SLAVE PLAY will return for a strictly limited engagement at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre (following the 52nd street house current hit Pass Over). Previews will begin on November 23rd, 2021, the official Opening Night is set for December 2nd, 2021, and will through January 23rd, 2022.
Majority of the play’s casting is still expecting to be the same as it was consisting of its original stars….
Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as “Gary”,
Tony nominee Chalia La Tour as “Teá”,
Irene Sofia Lucio as “Patricia”,
Tony nominee Annie McNamara as “Alana”
and
Paul Alexander Nolan as “Jim”.
No word has been said though if either Tony nominee Joaquina Kalukango or Teyonah Parris will be continuing with the play as “Kaneisha”.
For those who may not know, SLAVE PLAY tells the story of 3 interracial couples undergoing ASPT (Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy) due to their black partners no longer feel sexual attraction to their white partners. The title refers both to the history of slavery in the United States and to sexual slavery role-play. Told in 3 acts, it deals with the themes of race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.
SLAVE PLAY was first concieved by Jeremy O. Harris while studying at the Yale School of Drama. He wrote it during his freshmen year of studies back in 2016. It would be performed at the school part of the campus’ Langston Hughes Festival in the Fall of 2017.
With the unforgettable response, the play itself would get noticed and get an Off-Broadway run. The show continued to get developed, expanded, and be performed at the New York Theatre Workshop in the Fall of 2018. The critics praised the production, it was extended for an additional month and a half.
The Off Broadway run was nominated for various Awards including The Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Award. However, it lost all its categories. It did however win a Drama Desk Award for OUTSTANDING FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY.
With the incredible response of the Off Broadway run, SLAVE PLAY would make its way to midtown and ON Broadway. It transferred to the Golden Theatre the following Fall of 2019 where it ran for a limited engagement of 29 previews and 121 regular performances.
It was nominated for various Awards… of course 12 Tony Awards including BEST PLAY but lost all the categories. The news of the play loosing within the last few hours caused a lot of anger and frustration within the Theater community….. especially how powerful it is.
After the show’s Broadway return, SLAVE PLAY will make its over to the West Coast debuting in LA at the Mark Taper Forum.
Who is excited?!!!
