Studio Theatre Extends HOT WING KING Through August 7

Due to popular demand, Studio Theatre is adding performances to its season-ending production of The Hot Wing King; the production now runs through August 7, 2022. Katori Hall's Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a gay couple and their friends gunning for glory in the annual Memphis Hot Wing Festival inaugurates Studio's new theatre space, the Victor Shargai Theatre. Steve H. Broadnax III, who directed the Pulitzer-winning premiere in New York, has returned to direct Studio's production. This is only the second time that The Hot Wing King has been produced anywhere in the country.

Hall calls the play "personal and political" in its portrayal of Black gay men living in the South. The production received praise as "a funny, deeply felt consideration of Black masculinity and how it is perceived, filtered through the experiences of a loving gay couple" (2021 Pulitzer Committee). 

As part of its production, Studio is presenting the Black Pride & Joy Festival on Saturday, July 16 from 4-8pm. Presented with community partners Day in the District and Team Rayceen Productions, the event celebrates the intersections of the Black and LGBTQ+ communities. The free event will be held at Studio Theatre and includes a talkback with the cast of The Hot Wing King, a live DJ, and local Black-owned businesses selling food and wares.


It's August in Memphis, time to crown the new "Hot Wang King." Backed by his best friends and boyfriend Dwayne, who serve as his fry crew The New Wing Order, Cordell has a feeling that this is his year. But then a family emergency throws Dwayne's nephew into the house on prep night, one of his crew starts messing with the seasoning, and suddenly Cordell's future is in danger of going up in flames. Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) has written a fresh and fierce comedy about the risk and rewards of celebrating who you are.