BLACK NO MORE Musical premiering at the New Group in January 2022, with a buzzy creative team & cast

On paper this sounds promising, though we know with the New Group that sometimes shows are better on paper than in reality.

 
BLACK NO MORE

- Book by John Ridley ("12 Years a Slave" Oscar-winning screenwriter)
- Music and Lyrics by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (of THE ROOTS, Jimmy Fallon's band)
- Directed by Scott Elliott (New Group Artistic Director)
- Choreography by Bill T. Jones (Fela, Spring Awakening)
- Music Supervision/Orchestrations/Arrangements by Daryl Waters (Shuffle Along)

Starring Brandon Victor Dixon, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, Jennifer Damiano, Tamika Lawrence, Theo Stockman, Tracy Shayne, Walter Bobbie, Ephraim Sykes, and Lillias White

 
From the NYT: Based on George S. Schuyler’s 1931 novel of the same name. Schuyler’s satirical story, a piece of the Harlem Renaissance canon, follows the development of Black-No-More, a scientific procedure for turning Black skin white, created by one Dr. Junius Crookman. (Trotter, in a theatrical debut, will also play Crookman in the show.) The protagonist, Max Disher (Brandon Victor Dixon), decides to undergo the procedure after being spurned by a white woman for being Black. In the meantime, Black-No-More gains popularity nationwide. The more Black people make the transition, the more obvious the economic importance of racial segregation becomes.

Updated On: 11/3/21 at 04:52 PM

Why do they have an old white dude directing this? OOf. 

Especially since the two authors are both new to musical theatre, it gives me pause that Elliott is directing. Maybe he'll be brilliant, but I would be much more optimistic if this had someone like Rachel Chavkin or George C. Wolfe or Leigh Silverman or Bartlett Sher directing. Someone who can really be "the muscle" of the show...though that didn't work on The Wrong Man.

(Also worth noting that, like Pal Joey, this creative team is all men.)

Updated On: 10/6/21 at 05:20 PM

Sutton Ross said: "Ugh, anything Brandon Victor Dixon is in I see because that man is a beautiful talent."

Agreeeeee! 

BVD needs a big Broadway role! He did a year in Hamilton after Shuffle Along and has done other non-Broadway performing, but it's been a while!

Tamika Lawrence is so, so good in the current CAROLINE, OR CHANGE production. I imagine she'll have to leave the show before it closes on 1/9 if BLACK NO MORE has its first preview on 1/11?

Looking forward to this. Sounds interesting.

Sutton Ross said: "Ugh, anything Brandon Victor Dixon is in I see because that man is a beautiful talent."

Agreeeeee!"

YESSSSSSSSSS!

The cast is stellar. The New Group's track record with new musicals + the lack of theatre experience from the authors gives me pause, but at the very least will be worth seeing off-Bway in case it doesn't move.

FYI, the code on the New Group’s website to unlock the cheaper tickets (rows N & O and box seats) is TNGSEATS. 

I think the star just refers to the use of the code. I called to ask about the box seats vs. row N, and the agent said nothing about obstruction for rows N and O, but he did say, depending on the final set design, that the box seat views could be less than ideal. He recommended row N without hesitation.

Per Philip Boroff:

Jeffrey Seller (Hamilton, In the Heights, Rent, Avenue Q) is the commercial producer behind BLACK NO MORE and is raising between 1.8M and 3M to enhance the off-Broadway production. "Prospective investors have been told it’s fully subscribed," which is a great place to be in for a pre-Broadway engagement, even considering Seller's pedigree.

So this thing is basically destined for Broadway unless it's a giant flop at the New Group.

Updated On: 11/19/21 at 03:52 PM

I found the NPR Tiny desk concert with a song "Yellow" from the upcoming off-Broadway musical Black No More, performed by Black Thought. The song is at around 7:50, with the intro at 5:09.

https://youtu.be/u12r_JI8mGM

Updated On: 12/15/21 at 07:36 PM

We're a week away from First Preview - has anyone heard any rumblings on whether this may be pushed back?