Every day is opening night.

Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com
212 695 7400

Audience Development and Marketing for Thoughts of a Colored Man
Marcia Pendleton / Walk Tall Girl Productions
marcia@walktallgirlproductions.com
917 334 6492

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 24 AT 1 PM ET, PLEASE

“THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN”
ANNOUNCES COMPLETE CASTING FOR BROADWAY & PRODUCTION DATES

THRILLING ENSEMBLE CAST TO FEATURE
DYLLÓN BURNSIDE
BRYAN TERRELL CLARK
DA’VINCHI
LUKE JAMES
FORREST McCLENDON
TRISTAN “MACK” WILDS
AND KEITH DAVID

POWERFUL TESTAMENT TO THE INNER LIVES OF BLACK MEN
WILL BE THE FIRST NEW PLAY ON BROADWAY
FOLLOWING THE SHUTDOWN

PREVIEW PERFORMANCES BEGIN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1
AHEAD OF A SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31 OFFICIAL OPENING NIGHT
AT BROADWAY’S GOLDEN THEATRE

TICKETS GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
FRIDAY, JUNE 18 AT 11 AM ET

AUDIENCE REWARDS PRE-SALE BEGINS TODAY AT 1 PM ET

New York, NY (May 24, 2021) – Today, producers Brian Moreland, Ron Simons, Diana DiMenna, Samira Wiley, Sheryl Lee Ralph, The Shubert Organization, and The Nederlander Organization announced complete casting for Thoughts of a Colored Man, the new play by Keenan Scott II, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. The ensemble cast will feature Dyllón Burnside (FX’s “Pose,”), Bryan Terrell Clark (Hamilton), Da’Vinchi (Showtime’s upcoming “Black Mafia Family”), Grammy Award^® nominee Luke James (Showtime’s “The Chi”), Tony Award^® nominee Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Grammy Award nominee Tristan “Mack” Wilds (HBO’s “The Wire”), and Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Keith David (Seven Guitars, OWN’s “Greenleaf”).

The limited engagement of Thoughts of a Colored Man will begin preview performances on Friday, October 1 making it the first new play on Broadway following the shutdown. The new play, which celebrates the vibrant and complex lives of Black men in America, will open Sunday, October 31 at Broadway’s Golden Theatre (252 West 45^th Street) pending Broadway’s anticipated return with government approval and following health and safety guidelines.

Tickets for the production will go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 18 at 11 AM ET via www.thoughtsofacoloredman.com, www.telecharge.com, or by calling 800 447 7400.

Prior to the general on sale, tickets will be available exclusively to Audience Rewards^® members starting today at 1 PM ET through Tuesday, June 1 at 9:59 AM ET. To join, please visit www.audiencerewards.com. Audience Rewards is the “Official Rewards Program of Broadway & the Arts™.” It’s a standing ovation for ticket buyers across the nation. Earn valuable ShowPoints every time you buy tickets to participating theatrical productions, live entertainment, and more. Save money by redeeming ShowPoints for free tickets to the events you love or, even better, securing unique experiences and merchandise exclusively curated for Audience Rewards members.

As the sun rises on a single day in the pulsing heart of Brooklyn, seven Black men are about to discover the extraordinary – together. By Keenan Scott II, one of today’s boldest new voices, Thoughts of a Colored Man blends spoken word, slam poetry, rhythm, and humor into a daringly universal new play. Welcome to the vibrant inner life of being Black, proud, and thriving in the 21st century.

This richly theatrical mosaic shines brilliant light onto these men, a tight-knit brotherhood, revealing their most triumphant selves. Their vibrant and vulnerable experiences and feelings reverberate far beyond the barbershops and basketball courts of their community. They reveal the deeply human hopes, joys, sorrows, fears, and dreams of all men, all people.

The creative team for Thoughts of a Colored Man includes music by Te’La and Brother Kamau, set design by Tony Award^® nominee Robert Brill, co-costume design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award^® winner Toni-Leslie James and Devario D. Simmons, lighting design by Ryan O’Gara, projection design by Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee Sven Ortel, and sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman. Calleri, Jensen, & David serve as casting directors for the production.

State Approvals

The anticipated return of Broadway performances is subject to the approval of the NY State Department of Health and the Governor based on the continuing growth of the fully vaccinated population, coupled with an ongoing decline in total Covid 19 cases and positivity rates.

The Department of Health and the Governor will review and approve health protocols in the theater established by the theater owner to assure that the highest safety standards are in place.

Safety Protocols

Broadway is committed to providing healthy and safe facilities for audiences, performers, and staff. Based on CDC and New York State guidelines at the time of performance, protocols may include mask enforcement, vaccination or negative test verification, and more as developed by the theater owners in conjunction with the State.

New protective systems – including sanitization and filtration requirements – will be implemented by the theater to align with federal and state recommendations, and if any regulations change, the theater will follow state, and federal guidelines to maintain safety for all.

BIOGRAPHIES

Keenan Scott II (Playwright) is a playwright, poet, actor, director, and producer of original work from Queens, New York. His work has been workshopped and produced at notable theaters such as National Black Theater, New York Theater Workshop, Arena Stage, and Woolly Mammoth. Scott’s critically acclaimed piece Thoughts of a Colored Man had its world premiere at Syracuse Stage for their 2019-2020 season and transferred to Baltimore Center Stage to finish its regional run. It has now found its home at the Golden Theatre for the upcoming 2021-2022 Broadway season, where he will be making his debut.  His work Hashtag Me Not was featured in a benefit for NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. called #WhileWeBreathe. Scott has recently been chosen to be a part of the 2021 TED Fellow cohort to be among a global community of artists, inventors, and scientists. His latest work The Migration LP is currently being developed at New York Stage and Film. He is also developing an array of stories for television and film.

Steve H. Broadnax III (Director). Directing credits include various shows and theatre’s nationally and internationally including: Signature Theatre NYC; Actors’ Theatre of Louisville; Hattiloo Theatre; Syracuse Stage; Ensemble Studio Theatre Company NYC; Chautauqua Theatre Company; People’s Light Theatre; Apollo Theater NYC; Classical Theatre of Harlem; Atlantic Theater NYC; Detroit Public Theatre; Baltimore Center Stage; Cleveland Playhouse; The Black Theatre Troupe in Phoenix, AZ; Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Moore Theatre in Seattle; Market Theatre Johannesburg, SA; The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland; National Arts Festival in South Africa; and The Adelaide Arts Festival in Australia. The Hip-Hop Project, an award-winning, full-length original play directed, choreographed, and conceived by Broadnax, has toured nationally and was showcased at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Other writings include American Taboo, Camouflage (Eugene O’Neil semifinalist), and Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland (2021 world première at The People’s Light Theatre Company). As a member of Actor’s Equity Association (AEA) and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), he has worked nationally and internationally. Broadnax is also a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the National Theatre Conference in NYC. He as serves as the Resident Director at People’s Light Theatre. Training: BFA Conservatory of Fine Arts Webster University, MFA Penn State University. He is currently a Professor of Theatre at Penn State University.

Dyllón Burnside. A multi-hyphenate performer, creator, and recording artist, Burnside has appeared in notable stage, television, and film projects. He currently stars as Ricky in Ryan Murphy’s and FX’s ground-breaking and Emmy-nominated series, “Pose.” He first captivated audiences with his Broadway debut, starring as Anthony in 2014’s Holler if Ya Hear Me, a hip-hop musical inspired by the music and lyrics of Tupac Shakur. He also appeared in NBC’s “Peter Pan Live!” and the HBO series “High Maintenance,” all while completing his final year at the prestigious CAP21 conservatory for music theatre and The New School where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and Writing. Last year, Burnside hosted the series “Prideland” for PBS. The series explored LGBTQ+ identity in the South and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.  The Pensacola, FL native began performing professionally at the age of 12 as a member of the hip-hop/R&B boy band 3D, which afforded him the opportunity to tour the country performing original music. Burnside released his debut solo single last year and is currently working on new music. In addition to his performance work, he is passionate about producing quality arts content that promotes social change and works with students at schools across the country about the importance of arts education as a means of personal empowerment and self-expression.

Bryan Terrell Clark. On Broadway, Clark appeared as George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. He made his Broadway debut playing the iconic role of Marvin Gaye in Motown: The Musical and is featured on the Grammy Award-nominated Original Broadway Cast Album. Additional theater credits include Fences at the Pasadena Playhouse opposite Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett and the Mark Taper Forum’s production of Immediate Family directed by Phylicia Rashad. Clark will be seen in Shonda Rhymes’ “Inventing Anna” on Netflix and the upcoming Disney+ film, Sneakerella. Most recently, Clark was seen on the TNT drama “Snowpiercer” and NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” Numerous television appearances include Ava DuVernay’s 2020 Peabody Award-winning Netflix miniseries “When They See Us,” “Cherish The Day” and “Queen Sugar” on OWN, CBS’ “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Blue Bloods,” “Person of Interest,” “Unforgettable,” “CSI: NY,” and “The Unit.” He has also had roles on NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura,” Fox’s “Empire,” USA Network’s “Royal Pains” as well as BET’s “The New Edition Story” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” In addition, Clark appeared in the Warner Bros. film, Collateral Beauty. As a singer, songwriter, and producer, he was co-writer on Mary J. Blige’s “Irreversible” on the album My Life II and has performed with such artists as Maxwell, Brandy, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker, Michael Bublé, and many others. Clark is the co-founder of inDEFINED, an initiative launched in 2017 that inspires and teaches young people to use their voices to erase constrictive labels in our society. He graduated from the Yale School of Drama and Temple University. He is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

Da’Vinchi is a first-generation Haitian-American born and raised in Brooklyn. He is an actor whose unique personality, charismatic good looks, and raw talent have created a considerable amount of buzz in Hollywood in just three short years. In that time period, he first booked Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” then joined the cast of “Grown-ish,” a Freeform spin-off of the hit series “Black-ish.” He then went on to appear on FOX’s “Lethal Weapon,” Amazon’s “The Boys,” and could most recently be seen in a heavily recurring role on the CW’s hit series “All American,” now in its third season. Following his television success, Da’Vinchi caught the attention of acclaimed director Gavin O’Connor, who cast him in the Warner Bros. feature The Way Back starring Ben Affleck. Da’Vinchi’s star continues to rise in 2021, booking a lead role in the highly anticipated Starz series, “Black Mafia Family,” from Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Da’Vinchi plays the notorious Terry Flenory who, alongside his brother Meech, ran one of the most successful and notorious drug operations in the country in 1980s Detroit. After a whirlwind few years, Da’Vinchi couldn’t be more excited to continue his journey and finally take to the Broadway stage!

Luke James has become one of the most watched multi-hyphenate talents in the entertainment industry today. This year, James can be seen in the critically acclaimed Showtime drama series “The Chi,” and he recently recurred opposite Cynthia Erivo in “Genius: Aretha,” exploring Aretha Franklin’s musical genius and incomparable career. Additional television credits include: the hit FOX/Lee Daniels series “Star,” HBO’s “Insecure,” USA’s “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.,” and his role as R&B singer Johnny Gill on BET’s “The Bobby Brown Story.” On the film front, James appeared in the smash hit Universal Pictures comedy Little opposite Issa Rae, Regina Hall, and Marsai Martin. In music, James released his album, to feel love/d in January 2020 which garnered a 2021 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album marking the third Grammy nomination of Luke’s career. Born and raised in New Orleans, Luke was immersed in the rich musical heritage of the city at an early age, even taking up the saxophone for a number of years.  He got his start professionally singing background for Tyrese and went on to write for top artists including Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, and Snoh Aalegra, to name a few. As James expanded his solo career, he went on to perform alongside the late Prince and open for Beyoncé’s Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. In 2012, he received his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance for his hit song “I Want You” from his first mixtape #Luke and received his second Grammy nomination in 2015 for Best R&B Song for “Options ft. Rick Ross,” from his self-titled debut album Luke James. Luke currently splits his time between Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, where he is hard at work on his multitude of projects.

Forrest McClendon. Broadway/London: The Scottsboro Boys (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway: City Center Encores!, New Federal, Vineyard, La MaMa. Thoughts of a Colored Man at Arena Stage, Syracuse Stage, and Center Stage. Other regional: Guthrie Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Westport Playhouse, Two River, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Awards: Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, two Barrymore Awards (five nominations). Numerous visiting professorships. Faculty: National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. @forrestmcclend1 www.forrestmcclendon.com

Tristan “Mack” Wilds is an actor, Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter, and producer from New York. The multi-faceted entertainer became widely popular from his breakout roles as Michael Lee on the critically acclaimed HBO series, “The Wire,” and starring as Dixon Wilson on the hit remake “90210” on the CW. Wilds has since appeared on notable television series such as Fox’s “Shots Fired” and VH1’s “The Breaks” and feature films such as George Lucas’ Red Tails and The Secret Life of Bee’s alongside heavy hitters Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning. Not to mention, Wilds also appeared as the lead in Adele’s “Hello” music video, which has garnered almost over 3 billion views, quickly becoming one of the fastest music videos to reach a billion views. In more recent news, Wilds will star in the Kevin Durant executive produced series, “Swagger,” one of the first original series on Apple+, which is executive produced and directed by Reggie Bythewood.

Keith David is a Tony Award nominee and three-time Emmy winner. He recently starred in “Greenleaf” for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network and provides the narration for Ken Burns’ upcoming “Muhammed Ali.” Other recent features include 21 Bridges with Chadwick Boseman, Night School with Kevin Hart, and Tales from the Hood 2. Additional titles include the Academy Award-winning films Crash and Platoon, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Requiem for a Dream, Men at Work, They Live, There’s Something About Mary, and The Thing. Other TV credits include: “Creepshow,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Blackish,” MacGyver,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Community,” “Enlisted,” “ER,” and “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.” On Broadway, David starred in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars and George C. Wolfe’s Jelly’s Last Jam for which he garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. David’s work as a voice actor has made him a household name. His rich and powerful voice has been featured in national commercials, award shows, documentaries, video games, and animation. In addition to “Muhammed Ali”, his work in narration has earned him three Emmys for Ken Burns’ “Jackie Robinson,” “The War,” and “Unforgivable Blackness – The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” Born and raised in New York, he enrolled in New York’s High School of the Performing Arts and continued his studies at The Juilliard School. After graduation, he was immediately hired by Joseph Papp as an understudy for the role of Tullus Aufidius in Coriolanus.

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