Cast Set for RED & BLACK at MusiCoLab in August

When a family loses a mother to police violence, how do they reclaim her story—and their own? RED & BLACK, a new musical by Philadelphia-based artists Nick Hatcher, Sheridan Merrick, and David Thomas, asks this question with compelling clarity and originality.

MusiCoLab will present workshop performances of this powerful new work August 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake (302 S Hicks St., Philadelphia), featuring a powerhouse local cast in this urgent and timely theatrical work.

Created by writing team Nick Hatcher and Sheridan Merrick (book) and David Thomas (music), RED & BLACK follows Julian, who returns to their childhood home after their father's death and is haunted by memories of their mother Lena, who was killed by police years earlier. As Julian prepares a vigil with friends Quincy and Bec, Julian is drawn into a web of memory and activism that builds to a searing confrontation with the truth.

The workshop features eleven talented local actors, including standout artists in the four leading roles:

Newton Buchanan as Julian — A Barrymore Award-nominated actor and co-founder of the Black Theatre Alliance of Philadelphia

Chabrelle Williams as Lena — A Philadelphia native with a rich background in opera and theater

Rob Tucker as Damien — A Philadelphia artist with numerous regional and international credits who has appeared in previous MusiCoLab workshops

Nigel Grant as Young Julian — A rising senior in Temple University's BFA Musical Theater program

The production's music director is elle.morris, a Philadelphia-based composer, performer, and collaborator known for her work on new musicals in the UArts Polyphone Festival and her original music in the Wilma's The Half-God of Rainfall.