Broadway-Bound ‘Thoughts Of A Colored Man’ Lands Venue, Becoming First New Play To Take Residence Since Shutdown

Keenan Scott II’s play Thoughts of a Colored Man has officially landed a venue – the Golden Theatre – becoming the first new, non-revival show to take up Broadway residence since the industry’s pandemic shutdown last March.

The play, which enjoyed critically acclaimed runs in 2019 at Syracuse Stage and Baltimore Center Stage, will be directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. Producing are Brian Moreland, Ron Simons, Diana DiMenna, Samira Wiley, Sheryl Lee Ralph, The Shubert Organization, and The Nederlander Organization.

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Casting, first preview, opening night, and ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.

The production will mark the Broadway debuts of Scott and Broadnax. Scott’s new play The Migration LP is in development at New York Stage & Film, while Broadnax most recently directed Katori Hall’s new play The Hot Wing King at Signature Theatre.

Set over the course of a single day in Brooklyn, Thoughts of a Colored Man charts “the hopes, sorrows, fears, and joys of seven men” that “reverberate far beyond the barbershops and basketball courts of their community.” The play, producers say, “weaves spoken word, slam poetry, and rhythm into a mosaic of the inner lives of Black men and heralds the arrival of an essential new voice to the American theater.”

The creative team for Thoughts of a Colored Man includes music by Te’La and Brother Kamau, set design by Robert Brill, co-costume design by Toni-Leslie James and Devario D. Simmons, lighting design by Ryan O’Gara, projection design by Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee Sven Ortel, and sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman.

Broadway is officially closed until June, though productions aren’t expected to return until the fall or later.

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