MTC presents Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonlight and a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship Grant. Directing is Trip Cullman (Murder Ballad).
For half a century, the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys 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 legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key? On its US debut at MTC's Studio at Stage II, The New York Times called the play "vivid, magnetic and moving," and The New York Post hailed it as "bracing and provocative." Now, we"re thrilled to bring this soaring music-filled work to Broadway.
Choir Boy features music direction, arrangements, & original music by Jason Michael Webb; scenic & costume design by David Zinn; lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski; original music & sound design by Fitz Patton; hair & makeup design by Cookie Jordan; fight direction by Thomas Schall; and choreography by Camille A. Brown.
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McCraney has an ear for schoolboy vernacular and the confidential bedtime talks between Pharus and Anthony are innocently funny and downright sweet. 'Sick of people calling me something I ain't doing,' Pharus complains to Anthony about the sexual innuendos. 'I'm just Pharus.' To which complaint Anthony simply and kindly responds, 'Ain't nothing wrong with being Pharus.' He's quite right. Pharus is a strange and wonderful character with the courage to be his own exceptional self.
Many of the characters are cut from familiar molds - the effeminate gay kid torn between self-affirmation and self-protection; the privileged bully with his own burdens; the closeted loner crippled by anxieties; the sensitive jock. And the microcosm of an exclusive boarding school has often served in theater and film as a prism through which to examine traits prevalent in society at large. But the specificity of a black middle-class milieu, plus the writer's sharp ear for dialogue and his observations on class, race and sexuality, give McCraney's play distinctive qualities that outweigh its more conventional aspects.
2013 | Off-Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2019 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Camille A. Brown |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music in a Play | Jason Michael Webb |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Play | Fitz Patton |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jeremy Pope |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Choir Boy |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Jeremy Pope |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Feature Actor in a Play | John Clay III |
2019 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Jeremy Pope |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Camille A. Brown |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Jeremy Pope |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Tarell Alvin McCraney |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Fitz Patton |
2019 | Tony Awards | Special Tony Awards | Jason Michael Webb |
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