Broadway Revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog Closes January 15

The 20th anniversary revival production of Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks completes its limited Broadway engagement January 15. The play officially opened October 20, 2022 after beginning previews September 27 at the Golden Theatre.

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, best known for his Emmy-winning turn in Watchmen, made his Broadway debut alongside Tony nominee Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation, Romeo & Juliet) in the story of sibling rivalry and brotherly love centering on two brothers named Lincoln and Booth by their father as a joke. Tony winner Kenny Leon helmed the production.

READ: Topdog/Underdog’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Corey Hawkins on the Lie of the American Dream

The work made its world premiere Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in 2001 in a production directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright. It transferred to Broadway the following year with Wright reprising his Off-Broadway performance opposite rap artist Mos Def. The production received two 2002 Tony nominations, including Best Play, and won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making Parks the first Black woman to win the honor.

The creative team includes scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado, costume designer Dede Ayite, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes, and sound designer Justin Ellington. Casting is by Calleri Jensen Davis, and Kamra Jacobs is the production stage manager. The production is being produced by David Stone, LaChanze, Rashad V. Chambers, Marc Platt, Debra Martin Chase, and the Shubert Organization.

Parks' theatrical concert Plays for the Plague Year, which ran in the fall, will get an encore run at The Public's Joe's Pub in April 2023.