How a Call From Denzel Washington Brought Debbie Allen Back to Broadway With Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Debbie Allen was at the Broadway opening night of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in 1988. In 2026, she is directing the play's second revival. Allen sat down with The Broadway Show host Tamsen Fadal to share her process in bringing the Tony-nominated revival to life, how she assembled her all-star cast and the call from Denzel Washington that started it all.

Returning to Broadway with Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Allen describes the experience as both deeply personal and creatively fulfilling. “It's incredible for me. This particular production, this play, August Wilson, this cast, my creative team; it's like everything I could ever dream has come together.”

The production began with a call from Washington, whose long-term commitment to bringing Wilson’s work to the screen led him to ask Allen to direct. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, put me in, coach. I'm ready,’” she says. When Washington suggested staging the play before moving into film development, Allen immediately embraced the idea. "I was very, very excited to be on his list, and that he appreciated me as a director. He sees my craft." The journey has allowed her to find her own vision of Wilson’s characters by doing a deep dive into the playwright and the history of the piece.

The project is a welcome return to Wilson’s world and legacy for Allen, who reflects on attending the original opening of the play and later meeting Wilson while her sister, actress and director Phylicia Rashad, rehearsed Gem of the Ocean. “What an incredible human being, what a spirit, so much energy and just cooled out,” Allen recalls. That memory stayed with her as she assembled a creative team she describes in glowing terms, praising scenic designer David Gallo, costume designer Paul Tazewell and composer/music director Steve Bargonetti for helping shape the production’s atmosphere and emotional depth. Bargonetti's score, Tazewell's costumes, Stacey Derosier's lighting design and Justin Ellington's sound design make up four of the production's five 2026 Tony Award nominations.

Music became central to Allen’s vision for the play, particularly the influence of the blues on Wilson’s storytelling. “The blues to me is very important as I've implemented it into the show in a different way than I've ever seen,” she explains. Rather than beginning immediately with the title song, Allen wanted audiences immersed first in the feeling and texture of the blues itself. “I wanted to hear the blues and what somebody would be talking about,” she says. “And then as we get into it, we use musicality throughout.”

Working alongside Bargonetti during rehearsals, Allen incorporated live scoring directly into the storytelling. “We worked right in the rehearsal room. Steve would be with me and I would say where it would start and then we'd just massage the music along with the words.” Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tony nominated for his performance as Bynum Walker, was praised by Allen specifically for his storytelling. Santiago-Hudson will be writing the screenplay for Allen’s film version of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

Allen also brought cinematic instincts into the staging, revealing that elements like a lightning and thunderstorm sequence emerged organically during rehearsals. “I thought it begged for it,” she says. Drawing from decades of experience across television, dance, theater and producing, every part of Allen's artistic background feeds into the work she creates onstage.

She spoke passionately about the cast, particularly Taraji P. Henson, who impressed her from the start as Bertha Holly. “She came in with such enthusiasm. She brought such nuance to her portrayal as Bertha, and warmth and energy.” Henson was awarded the Dr. Andrew Allen Sr. Memorial Scholarship by Allen and Rashad during her junior year at Howard University, and the two have been collaborating ever since. She has been tapped to reprise the role in the film adaptation. Allen also praised Cedric the Entertainer for grounding the language and poetry of Wilson’s text while still bringing humor and heart to the role of boarding house owner Seth Holly.

Allen’s admiration for actor Joshua Boone is equally evident. “He was my dream come true,” she says, recalling first meeting him while working as the choreographer on Tyler Perry's 2022 film, A Jazzman's Blues. Following his performances in Skeleton Crew and The Outsiders, Allen knew she wanted him for Herald Loomis. Perhaps most exciting of all was the casting of Abigail C. Onwunali as Martha Pentecost. “We had to stop the audition,” Allen says, "because her energy was still in the room after she left. I said, 'Okay, tell everybody else to go home.'"

Several cast members, including Savannah Commodore and Maya Boyd, trained under her guidance at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy before joining the production. Allen describes her commitment to mentoring the next generation of performers as a major part of her life’s mission: “I have a lot of young people that I am trying to catapult into the future and be our future.” 

One of the most meaningful parts of rehearsals, Allen says, was the presence of August Wilson’s wife, Constanza Romero. Although Allen keeps rehearsals private, Romero spent several days with the cast and creative team as the production developed. “Constanza, who is August's beautiful wife and the keeper of the legacy, was very much there in the room with us and was feeling so good about where we were going,” shares Allen. “That gave me a lot of confirmation.”

Even with the excitement of the film version of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone on the horizon, Broadway remains the ultimate artistic destination for Allen. “I'm a Broadway baby, let's just put it that way,” she says. Now, standing at the center of another major Broadway moment, Allen embraces that connection fully. “Broadway is the crown jewel,” she says, acknowledging the scale of what she's accomplished in staging this production. “Here we are.”

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