Charles Randolph-Wright’s play “Blue,” is coming to Broadway under the direction of Phylicia Rashad.
The play will come to Broadway in spring 2020 at a theater to be announced. Produced by Brian Moreland, Eric Falkenstein and Ron Simons, the play will feature music by Nona Hendryx.
This is the Broadway premiere of “Blue,” after it had a world premiere off-Broadway at Arena Stage in 2000 and a New York premiere at Roundabout Theatre Company in 2001. Rashad starred in both productions.
The production marks the Broadway directing debut of Rashad, whose Broadway roles including “A Raisin in the Sun,” for which she received a Tony Award, “August: Osage County” and “Gem of the Ocean.” She has directed four August Wilson plays across the country as well as titles at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and New York’s Signature Theatre.
“I am happy to be directing this play that brought me so much joy. It affirms the importance of theater and its power to touch the human heart,” Rashad said in the press release.
The play follows the Clarks, a well-to-do family that struggles with the “legacy and pitfalls of their own good fortune.” The play is accompanied by a jazz and soul score.
“Part of the inspiration for writing ‘Blue’ was that I had never seen a family like mine on stage,” Randolph-Wright said. “I am thrilled that ‘Blue’ will continue to open doors to a more diverse world, and also spread a little joy.”
