Topdog/Underdog, a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity, tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth , names given to them as a joke by their father. Haunted by the past and their obsession with the street con game, three-card monte, the brothers come to learn the true nature of their history. Susan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Topdog/Underdog returns to Broadway for its 20th Anniversary production.
It is a testament to the acuity of Suzan-Lori Parks' imagination and powers of perception that 'Topdog/Underdog' feels as vital and electric today as it did 20 years ago. The first Broadway revival, which opened at the Golden Theatre tonight, crackles like a live wire - an American fable with its finger shoved in a socket. Throw in career-high performances from Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and it is a theatrical event in the most essential sense, in that it demands to be seen here and now.
Back on Broadway in a top-notch new production, Suzan-Lori Parks's 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner, Topdog/Underdog, bubbles over with timeless talking points. The always intriguing playwright reckons with race, identity, fractured families, and the elusive chase for grace. At its core - and right there in the title - the play also concerns power. Someone's always got more of it, and that disparity breeds trouble. For this harrowing and humorous two-hander to reach its full firepower, it takes actors equal in might. Director Kenny Leon has cast a pair of aces who consistently match each other across the tragicomic tone shifts.
| 2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Yahya Abdul-Mateeh II |
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Corey Hawkins |
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Kenny Leon |
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Topdog/Underdog |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Dede Ayite |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Kenny Leon |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Corey Hawkins |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Topdog/Underdog |
| 2023 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Yaha Abdul-Mateen II |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Corey Hawkins |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Topdog/Underdog |
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