Categories: Audrey Bernard,
Spectacularly directed by Golden Globe Award, four-time Emmy Award winner and recipient of the 2026 Academy Honorary Award, Debbie Allen, “August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” is officially a five-time Tony-nominated revival winning nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Ruben Santiago-Hudson). Best Costume Design of a Play (Paul Tazewell). Best Lighting Design of a Play (Stacey Derosier). Best Sound Design of a Play (Justin Ellington). Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre (Steve Bargonetti). The latest revival of “August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” officially opened on Broadway April 25 after previews March 30 at the Barrymore Theatre, and has already extended its run through July 26, 2026. This phenomenal play ain’t going nowhere!
Golden Globe winner Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures, “Empire”) makes her Broadway debut alongside Cedric the Entertainer (CBS’ “The Neighborhood”), Tony Award nominee Joshua Boone (Skeleton Crew, The Outsiders), and Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Lackawanna Blues) in the second coming of “August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,”), phenomenally directed by Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Debbie Allen (“Grey’s Anatomy,” Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).
Set in Pittsburgh in 1911 during a pivotal era of migration and transformation, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” centers on Seth and Bertha Holly, played by Cedric and Henson, who run a warm, orderly boardinghouse for those navigating uncertain paths. But when a mysterious man named Herald Loomis, played by Boone, arrives with his young daughter, searching for his lost wife—and for the self he lost during seven years of illegal enslavement under Joe Turner,
the stillness of the house begins to shift. The work is the second in Wilson’s American Century Cycle.
“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” also stars Ruben Santiago-Hudson as ‘Bynum Walker,’ Joshua Boone as ‘Herald Loomis,’ Maya Boyd as ‘Molly Cunningham,’ Savannah Commodore and Dominique Skye Turner sharing the role of ‘Zonia Loomis,’ Abigail Onwunali as ‘Martha Loomis,’ Bradley Stryker as ‘Rutherford Selig,’ Tripp Taylor as ‘Jeremy Furlow,’ Christopher Woodley and Jackson Edward Davis sharing the role of ‘Reuben Scott,’ and Nimene Sierra Wureh as ‘Mattie Campbell.’ Understudies for the production are Jasmine Batchelor, Rosalyn Coleman, Thomas Michael Hammond, Cayden McCoy, and Kevyn Morrow.
Allen leads a winning creative team, including Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, Tony winning scenic designer David Gallo, Drama Desk nominated lighting designer Stacey Derosier, Tony nominated lighting designer Justin Ellington, and Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy winning hairstylist Mia Neal. The powerful producing team is helmed by Brian Anthony Moreland, Tyler Perry, Kandi Burruss and The Apollo.
“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” is the second installment in Wilson’s American Century Cycle – his groundbreaking ten-play series chronicling the African American experience in each decade of the 20th century. This long-awaited revival brings Wilson’s enduring legacy back to Broadway, reaffirming the urgent, timeless relevance of his work. (Opening Night premiere photos by Bruce Glikas)
