PASS OVER by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu will play the August Wilson Theatre

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:04pm

https://twitter.com/Theatrely/status/1389641487378436101

Updated On: 5/4/21 at 02:04 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:07pm

This sounds exactly like an all-POC Waiting for Godot. Should be interesting to say the least, I wonder who will lead the cast for this.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:15pm

I'm all for increasing diversity on Broadway and it's going to be fascinating to see how certain shows fare at the box office in this new world.

[iknowthetruth2]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:20pm

Really excited for this! I watched it on Amazon last year and am fascinated to see what changes are made to further center the experience of Black audience members.

“Though much about ‘Pass Over‘ remains a lament over the lives of Black people stolen too soon, I am happy to confirm that my team and I, along with our producers, are presenting a new version that centers the health, hope and joy of our audiences, especially Black people,” Nwandu said. “We are re-uniting to envision this play again, to tell a version of the story on Broadway where Moses & Kitch both survive their encounter with white oppression.”

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:24pm

Be curious if tickets are affordable. Seems interesting to bring a very POC/Black driven play to Broadway, and then make the tickets only available to the 1% that can afford them.... 

And curious to see who they get. It'll def need some star power. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:27pm

Wow, big news!! 

I saw this at LCT3, and I had mixed feelings about it. I thought it had a lot of great qualities but maybe needed 1 more draft. I was mostly in the minority though - most people liked it. I also criticized it for being a bit too derivative of Suzan-Lori Parks, which in retrospect isn't a very good criticism. I'd be curious to see it again to give it another chance. 

Hope they bring Gabriel Ebert back for his role! 

EDIT: I also just read the article, and the above quote, and I'm realizing that we will actually be getting this "1 more draft" that I wanted! All the more reason to go back and see it again! 

Updated On: 5/4/21 at 02:27 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:31pm

barcelona20 said: "I'm all for increasing diversity on Broadway and it's going to be fascinating to see how certain shows fare at the box office in this new world."

Im very curious as well.

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:33pm

RippedMan said: "Be curious if tickets are affordable. Seems interesting to bring a very POC/Black driven play to Broadway, and then make the tickets only available to the 1% that can afford them....

May I ask what you think is affordable? Considering the costs of putting on a Broadway production and how expensive that can be, what do you think is fair?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:37pm

Totally. Not saying ALL tickets need to be cheap. But to charge $200 for something that a few years ago was playing off-off-Broadway for $30.... for the same production and all.... seems off to me. In this current climate. I'm sure the back bit of the mezz will be $30. 

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:40pm

RippedMan said: "Totally. Not saying ALL tickets need to be cheap. But to charge $200 for something that a few years ago was playing off-off-Broadway for $30.... for the same production and all.... seems off to me. In this current climate. I'm sure the back bit of the mezz will be $30."

The plays at Lincoln Center are much more than $30, unless you’re getting a student discount or LincTix. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:41pm

Even for LCT3?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:46pm

This played at LCT3, where all tickets are $25-$30 regardless of the seat or age. 

 

This argument gets at the crux of the whole issue surrounding Broadway these days. Broadway provides artists with opportunities for higher pay, and much broader visibility, but it comes at the expense of its accessibility. In an ideal world, our Off-Broadway non-profit theatres would be so well-funded, and so revered in the public eye, that there would be no need for a Broadway transfer to give a show further validation or exposure. 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 2:49pm

Thanks! That's what I thought

[unclevictor]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 3:23pm

This is awesome news and the August Wilson Theatre is a small enough theatre where this play could have a substantial run!
I hope they start working on the theatre STAT to get it up to Covid protocol standards. Hope the producers don’t charge $200 a ticket. That would be sad

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 3:23pm

barcelona20 said: "I'm all for increasing diversity on Broadway and it's going to be fascinating to see how certain shows fare at the box office in this new world."

Especially considering how large this house is. I get the symbolic nature of playing the Wilson, but 1228 seats is a LOT to fill for a play that (until we hear otherwise) has no stars, no major name value, and could be viewed free on Amazon Prime, in an industry that is still driven by white ticketbuyers. It's such a delicate, intimate play, and even star-driven plays can have a hard time appealing to about 200,000 people over the course of the run at an average price of $75+.

IMHO it's both a better play and a less-restrictive title than Slave Play, but Broadway finances are still going to be high post-pandemic. They papered the heck out of Slave Play and its numbers were better than a lot of folks anticipated but still not recoupable. Very few shows have been able to find a sustainable, robust Black theatergoing audience up to this point. Let's see if someone can figure it out.

Updated On: 5/4/21 at 03:23 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 3:59pm

I feel like every new show that announces a broadway run now is trying to be more depressing/upsetting than the last. I’m not saying these aren’t important stories to tell but are people going to flock to see things that upset them after the past year and a half when they can just get it for free by turning the TV on?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 4:05pm

From the sound it, it seems like Nwandu is altering the script to have a more uplifting ending

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 4:19pm

I saw a production at the Curious Theatre in Denver in Fall 2019, pre-COVID. I later saw the Chicago version filmed by Spike Lee - there were minor differences, but the version I saw in person, I feel, had a few different beats. I think the LCT3 version also was modified from the filmed Chicago version.

The show was intriguing and the images and speeches stayed with me and still stay with me. The Godot elements are nice to note, but knowledge of Godot is unnecessary. I am intrigued by the statement that the ending of the play will be changed. 

 

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 5:03pm

two VERY big names are attached for the leads..one who has done broadway before and one who has not...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 5:17pm

Good! Make it event theater. 

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 5:37pm

Good to hear because they’re gonna need it for that theater.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 5:41pm

Very interesting!! Care to give any more hints? How long ago did he do Broadway?

I’ve been obsessed with LaKeith Stanfield recently, and I’ve been thinking how much I’d love to see him onstage. This would be a great show for him! Imagine him doing this with Daniel Kaluuya, or John Boyega, or Michael B Jordan or Jonathan Majors! My imagination is running wild! I’d die if it was any of them!

But none of them have done broadway before. Hmm...who could the Broadway alum be? Corey Hawkins maybe isn’t a “huge” name, neither is Brian Tyree Henry, though he’s getting there. Maybe Anthony Mackie?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 5:49pm

Mackie would be a major draw right now.

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 6:33pm

RippedMan said: "Totally. Not saying ALL tickets need to be cheap. But to charge $200 for something that a few years ago was playing off-off-Broadway for $30.... for the same production and all.... seems off to me. In this current climate. I'm sure the back bit of the mezz will be $30."

 

I agree that there will be affordable tickets (less than $50) but they'll most likely be rear mezz or extreme side orchestra (partial view).

I remember watching Groundhog Day and Mean Girls from mid-Mezz (row J) and it felt far. Luckily I won one of those Pink Wednesday lotteries at Mean Girls and got to see the show front extreme side orchestra and felt that partial view was much better. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/4/21 at 8:00pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Mackie would be a major draw right now."

Depending on the re-write, Moses and Kitch are, I believe, supposed to be anywhere from 18-25. That was my sense when I saw it in Denver - but then, that was also the age of the actors. I don't know what the script actually calls for. 

Mackie is 42. Mahershala Ali is 47. Michael Jordan is 34. Yahya Abdul-Mateen also is 34. Can they play younger?  Perhaps.