Marc Damon Johnson Will Replace John Earl Jelks in Barbecue at the Public Theater

There has been a casting switcheroo at the Public. Broadway alum Marc Damon Johnson has replaced Tony nominee John Earl Jelks in the world premiere of Barbecue; no reason has been given for the change. Written by Robert O’Hara and directed by Kent Gash, the production will begin previews on September 22 and play a limited engagement through November 1. Opening night is set for October 8.

Johnson appeared in Lucky Guy on the Great White Way; additional theater credits include Much Ado About Nothing, The Brother/Sister Plays, Measure for Measure, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Brothers Size and Mr. Fox: A Rumination. His film and TV resume includes It Runs in The Family, Grace & Glorie, Sweet and Lowdown, Army Wives, Rescue Me and The Sopranos.

The O’Mallerys have gathered in their local park to share some barbecue and straight talk with their sister Barbara, whose spiral of drugs and recklessness has forced her siblings to stage an open-air intervention. But the event becomes raucous and unpredictable as familial stereotypes collide with hard realities, and racial politics slam up against the stories we tell—and maybe even believe—about who we were and who we become.

As previously reported, the cast will also feature Becky Ann Baker, Arden Myrin, Paul Niebanck, Tamberla Perry, Constance Shulman, Heather Alicia Simms, Samantha Soule, Benja Kay Thomas and Kim Wayans.