Kenny Leon directing 4 Broadway shows in 2022-23?

That four likely includes Trading Places, currently in Atlanta in advance of a potential Broadway opening. Saw it the other night — it ain’t ready. 

troynow said: "FACTUAL.

Kenny Leon is confirmed to be directing Top Dog/ Under Dog at The Golden Theatre
Ohio State Murders with Audra MacDonald
Trading Places is trying to come in from ATL"

What's the 4th show, then? And any hints about the TOP DOG cast??

EDIT: Oh, duh, another thread answered this: Steppenwolf's KING JAMES, which I know Leon has said also has eyes on Broadway and is now running in LA.

Updated On: 6/13/22 at 11:45 PM

Wishful thinking on his part for Trading Places.

Would this be some kind of record, that’s insane.

everythingtaboo said: "Not to be a broken record, but there are other directors that can handle plays dealing with the black experience, right?"

Of COURSE there are. But Kenny has powerful agents, he likes to work, and he's surely turned down more offers than he accepted. He and George C. Wolfe are the most-lauded Black directors working in theatre today, stars like to work with them, and they have good commercial track records (not with musicals for Kenny). But yes, there need to be more Black directors working at the highest levels of Broadway –– that's a systemic problem and change will occur slooowly.

As with anything in this biz, projects can be in development for years and suddenly all come together at the same time, which is partially the case here.

Updated On: 6/13/22 at 02:41 PM

ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure said: "Would this be some kind of record, that’s insane."

We don't know if all these productions will ACTUALLY happen on that schedule. There's some wishful thinking here.

Either way, it would not be a record. George Abbott did 3-5 shows in the span of one year several times. Perhaps there are more recent examples, too.

KING JAMES is definitely looking to move to Broadway, but the fly in the ointment is Chris Perfetti's schedule. I hear they're hoping to bring it in late next season, in time for the Tony cutoff, after filming wraps on ABBOTT ELEMENTARY season two. 

Also worth noting that OHIO STATE MURDERS is not a new play; it's more than 30 years old, although this will be its Broadway premiere.

Apparently he is directing something called A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

King James wouldn't be able to happen til the Spring at the earliest due to Chris Perfetti shooting Abbott Elementary but I could see 2ST program it for the Hayes in the summer perhaps? I think Trading Places is aiming for another regional production before transferring 

If there’s the possibility of a show starting Leslie Odom Jr and Danny Burstein, then it better materialize.

Just posted about this in another thread, but King James was just announced for an OFF-BROADWAY run at MTC. I wonder if MTC was initially planning to put it at the Friedman (since they still have a Spring show to announce), and something didn't work out. Or maybe the speculation about King James in this thread was just incorrect. Or maybe Leon was just speaking casually, and didn't feel like clarifying that one of his 4 shows wasn't actually on Broadway.

In any case, here's part of our answer: 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/-THE-BEST-WE-COULD-KING-JAMES-and-POOR-YELLA-REDNECKS-Join-Manhattan-Theatre-Clubs-2022-23-Season-20220815