Dennis Haysbert to Replace David Alan Grier in Race

Stage and screen star Dennis Haysbert has been tapped to replace Tony nominee David Alan Grier in David Mamet’s Race. Haysbert will join the production on June 21 and remain through the scheduled closing date of August 21. Additional casting for the play’s final nine weeks at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre will be announced shortly.

In addition to Grier, Race currently stars James Spader, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas.

Haysbert, who will make his Broadway debut in Race, is best known for his Golden Globe-nominated performance as President David Palmer in the early seasons of 24. He also starred in the series The Unit and Now and Again. Haysbert’s many film credits include Far From Heaven, Love and Basketball, Breach, Jarhead, Absolute Power, Love Field, Major League, Heat and the forthcoming The Details.

Race centers on three attorneys, two black and one white, who are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman. The play opened on December 6, 2009, directed by Mamet.