Cast Announced For THE FIRST DEEP BREATH At Geffen Playhouse

Geffen Playhouse has announced the full cast for its West Coast premiere of The First Deep Breath, written by Lee Edward Colston II (Roost, Fargo) and directed by Steve H. Broadnax III (Thoughts of a Colored Man, The Hot Wing King).

The cast includes Opa Adeyemo (ALIEN/NATION, Gint) as AJ (Alexander Michael Jones); Lee Edward Colston II as Abdul-Malik (Albert Melvin Jones IV); Brandon Mendez Homer (Uncle Vanya, Wolf Play) as Leslie Carter; Ella Joyce (King Hedley II, Roc) as Ruth Jones; Deanna Reed-Foster (A Raisin in the Sun, Fences) as Pearl Thomas; Candace Thomas (Nina Simone: Four Women, Man of La Mancha) as Dee-Dee (Denise Jones); Tony Todd (King Hedley II, Candyman) as Pastor Albert Melvin Jones III; and Keith A. Wallace (The Bitter Game, Junk) as Tyree Fisher.

Previews for The First Deep Breath begin Wednesday, February 1, in the Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse. Opening night is Thursday, February 9.

Pastor Albert Jones and his family are proud leaders of the Mother Bethel Baptist Church and pillars of their community. Plans are being made for a special memorial service to honor their late daughter Diane on the sixth anniversary of her passing. But when Abdul-Malik, the eldest son whom Albert blames for her death, returns home from prison, the family's veneer begins to crack as shocking revelations come to light. A ferocious new epic written by Lee Edward Colston II, The First Deep Breath chronicles the depths families will go to hide their skeletons from the outside world and each other.