Tarell Alvin McCraney's Powerful Drama Choir Boy Sings Out on Broadway
The 2013 drama Choir Boy by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) opens at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 8, 2019. Trip Cullman (Lobby Hero) directs the production, which began preview performances on December 12, 2018.
Choir Boy centers on the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, which for a half a century has been dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men. One talented student has been waiting for years to take his rightful place as the leader of the school's legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?
The play arrives on Broadway five years after an acclaimed 2013 off-off-Broadway production, also directed by Cullman, at City Center Stage II. The Broadway mounting is led by original stars Jeremy Pope as Pharus, Tony winner Chuck Cooper as Headmaster Marrow and Tony nominee Austin Pendleton as Mr. Pendleton.
The cast also includes Nicholas L. Ashe, Daniel Bellomy, Jonathan Burke, Gerald Caesar, John Clay III, Caleb Eberhardt, Marcus Gladney and J. Quinton Johnson.
To celebrate opening night, Broadway.com Resident Artist Justin "Squigs" Robertson sketched a portrait featuring Pope's Pharus singing out among his schoolmates and rising above adversity.
About the Artist: With a desire to celebrate the magic of live theater and those who create it, and with a deep reverence for such touchstones as the work of Al Hirschfeld and the wall at Sardi’s, Squigs is happy and grateful to be among those carrying on the traditions where theater and caricature meet. He was born and raised in Oregon, lived in Los Angeles for quite a long time and now calls New York City his home.
