Meet the Cast of SKELETON CREW; Previews Begin Tonight on Broadway

Previews begin tonight, December 27, for Manhattan Theatre Club's Skeleton Crew, written by Tony Award nominee Dominique Morisseau and directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Opening night is set for Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

The cast of Skeleton Crew features Chanté Adams (A Journal for Jordan), Joshua Boone (Actually at MTC, Network, A Jazzman's Blues), Brandon J. Dirden (Jitney at MTC), Adesola Osakalumi (Fela!), and Tony Award® winner and five-time Emmy Award nominee Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun).

Meet the cast below!

Chanté Adams - Shanita

With an award-worthy and captivating lead role performance in the Denzel Washington-directed film A Journal for Jordan (Christmas 2021), Chanté Adams is poised to be Hollywood's most talked-about star. In 2020, Chanté gave an "extraordinarily fresh performance" (Variety) and was the "best performance in the film" (The Hollywood Reporter) for her captivating portrayal of Christina in Universal's The Photograph. Her ascension into Hollywood's A-list actress club started back in 2017 when Chanté was the recipient of the Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance at that year's Sundance Film Festival. She received that honor for her powerful depiction of 80's hip-hop pioneer Roxanne Shante in Netflix's Roxanne, Roxanne. In 2018, Chanté starred opposite John David Washington in the feature film Monsters and Men and was also seen in Justin Simien's Bad Hair. That year, Vanity Fair also included her as one of nine "Stars to Watch" in their September Issue. She is currently in production on the highly anticipated Amazon series A League of Their Own; a re-imagining of the original 1992 film. On stage, Chanté starred in Ruben Santiago-Hudson's adaptation of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at Two River Theatre in 2016.

Joshua Boone - Dez

Joshua Boone was last seen at MTC in Anna Ziegler's Actually. He was most recently on stage starring in MCC's production of C.A. Johnson's All The Natalie Portmans, and prior to that, Ivo van Hove's acclaimed Broadway production of Network opposite Bryan Cranston. His other stage credits include Holler If Ya Hear Me (Broadway), Artney Jackson (Williamstown), Mother Courage and Her Children (Classic Stage Company), etc. Joshua stars as the lead of the upcoming Netflix film, A Jazzman's Blues, written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. He previously starred in Premature for director Rashaad Ernesto Green opposite Zora Howard, which made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the independent feature Wheels for writer/director Paul Starkman. He can also be seen on the series "Seven Seconds" for Netflix. Joshua received his BFA in Theatre Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Brandon J. Dirden - Reggie

Brandon J. Dirden starred on Broadway as 'Booster' in the Tony Award-winning revival of August Wilson's Jitney and as 'Martin Luther King, Jr.' in the Tony Award-winning production of All the Way, with Bryan Cranston. Additional Broadway credits include Clybourne Park, Enron, and Prelude to a Kiss. Off-Broadway, he has appeared in The Piano Lesson, for which he won Obie, Theatre World, and AUDELCO awards; The First Breeze of Summer and Day of Absence at Signature Theatre; Detroit '67 at The Public Theater and Classical Theatre of Harlem; Peter and the Starcatcher at New York Theatre Workshop and as 'Brutus' in TFANA's production of Julius Caesar. On screen he has appeared in The Good Wife, Evil, The Big C, Public Morals, Manifest, The Get Down, The Accidental Wolf, Blue Bloods, The Quad, For Life, the FX miniseries Mrs. America and on four seasons of The Americans as 'Agent Dennis Aderholt.' He has directed numerous plays by Dominique Morriseau and August Wilson. Brandon is a frequent volunteer at the 52nd Street Project, on the faculty of the NYU Grad Acting program and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and Fair Wage on Stage.

Adesola Osakalumi - Performer

Broadway: Fela!; Equus. Off-Broadway: runboyrun, Syncing Inc, Jam on the Groove. National Tour: Fela! Regional: Syncing Ink (Alley Theater), In Your Arms (Old Globe Theater & Powerhouse Theater). Film: Red Pill, Isn't It Romantic, Ibrahim, Sex and The City 2, Enchanted, Across the Universe, Idlewild, The Accidental Husband. TV: "Ice." Choreographer/Movement Director: Cullad Wattah, Coal Country, Othello (The Public Theater), Good Grief (Vineyard Theater), Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater) School of Rock (Paramount Pictures), Jam On The Groove (Minettta Lane Theater, Drama Desk Nominee).

He is thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking production once again with Ruben & Dominique! He gives thanks to the Creator, his Ori, Ancestors, his family Jill Vallery, Okanjobi Osakalumi, Baba & Iya for all the guidance and support. To all friends on this ride with me: Love & E se! Lakey & Thomas at Lakey Wolff & Co, thank you again. Grateful. Onward. www.adesola.com

Phylicia Rashad - Faye

Phylicia Rashad, an accomplished actress and stage director, became a household name when she portrayed Claire Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," a character whose enduring appeal has earned numerous awards and honors for over two decades. Her film and television credits include: A Fall From Grace, Creed and Creed II, For Colored Girls, Soul, Jingle Jangle, and Black Box; "This is Us" (two Emmy nominations), "David Makes Man," and "Empire."

Inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2016, Ms. Rashad received Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance as Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, the Lucille Lortel Award for her performance as Shelah in Head of Passes, and a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Ester in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. Ms. Rashad has directed plays by August Wilson (Gem of the Ocean, Fences, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone), Stephen Adly Guirgis (Our Lady of 121st Street), and Paul Oakley Stovall (Immediate Family) at prestigious regional and off-Broadway Theaters. She was recently appointed Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.

Ticket Information:

Call: (212) 239-6200
Online: Telecharge.com
In Person: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Box Office, 261 West 47th Street

Photo Credit: Skeleton Crew, https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2021-22-season/skeleton-crew/.