Tony Winner Billy Porter to Helm Huntington Theatre Company's TOPDOG/UNDERDOG in 2017

Tony Award winner Billy Porter will return to the Huntington to direct next seasons Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks. Mr. Porter directed the Huntington's 2015 production of George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum and is currently performing on Broadway in Wolfe's production of Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. Topdog/Underdog will perform March 10 - April 9, 2017 at the BU Theatre/Avenue of the Arts.

"I am over the moon about returning to the Huntington with such an important work," says Director Billy Porter. "I am humbled that both Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Suzan-Lori Parks have entrusted me to interpret this material for a new generation. I promise to make you proud!"

In Topdog/Underdog, Lincoln and Booth are brothers: best friends and bitter rivals. Lincoln, a former 3-card monte hustler, works as a Lincoln impersonator in a shooting gallery; Booth is an aspiring grifter. He tempts his brother to get back in the game, but the consequences could be deadly. Suzan-Lori Parks made history as the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama with this darkly comic, deeply theatrical fable about family wounds and healing bonds. The New York Times calls it a "thrilling comic drama. Dazzlingly written!"

Subscriptions to the Huntington's 2016-2017 Season are now on sale. Seven-play seated packages start at just $154 and offer the very best value - seven plays for the price of six so it's like seeing one show for free - and up to 50% off single ticket prices. FlexPass packages (a minimum of 4 tickets that can be used for any show and never expire) are available now for redemption for the current season and beyond.

Subscriptions may be renewed or purchased by calling the Huntington Box Office at 617 266 0800 or by visiting huntingtontheatre.org/subscribe. Groups of 10 or more can place orders by calling 617 273 1657.

Single tickets will go on sale on August 2, 2016. For more information about the artists in the Huntington's 2016-2017 Season, visit huntingtontheatre.org/season/2016-2017.

Billy Porter is the 2013 Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award winner for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Lola in the Best Musical Tony Award winner Kinky Boots. He returns to the Huntington after directing The Colored Museum in 2015. Most recently he appeared on Broadway in George C. Wolfe's Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. His one-man show Ghetto Superstar (2005 GLAAD Media Award nomination, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Performer of the Year 2003-2004) debuted at The Public Theater in conjunction with City Theatre of Pittsburgh. His directing credits include Company; HAM: A Musical Memoir with Sam Harris; The Wiz; Being Alive: The Soul of Sondheim; Twilight In Manchego; Once on This Island (NAACP Theatre Award winner for Best Direction); The Soul of Richard Rodgers; Five Guys Named Moe; Altar Boyz; Rent (Associate Director, Off Broadway revival); Patina Miller Live at The Delfonte Room (London); and Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Music of Stevie Wonder (starring Chaka Khan). His new Broadway album, Billy's Back on Broadway (Concord Records) was released last April. As a playwright, he was represented Off Broadway last fall with the premiere of While I Yet Live starring S. Epatha Merkerson (Primary Stages). A Pittsburgh native, he received his BFA in drama from Carnegie Mellon University. He is also a graduate of UCLA's professional program in screenwriting.

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