Based on the play by JC Lee, Luce opens in select movie theatres August 2.
The story follows Luce, a young man rescued from war-torn Africa by his adoptive American parents and grows to become an all-star student. But when his teacher, Harriet, reads an alarming essay he wrote, his parents are forced to confront the idealized image of their son and determine what’s real and what may be a vendetta against him in this psychological thriller.
The play premiered as part of Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3 season in the fall of 2013. Okieriete Onaodowan (Hamilton) starred as the title character alongside Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as his mother Amy, Neal Huff (To Kill a Mockingbird) as his father Peter, Olivia Oguma as Stephanie, and Sharon Washington (The Scottsboro Boys) as Harriet in the production directed by May Adrales.
READ: How LCT3’s Evan Cabnet Programs the Claire Tow Season
Lee also penned the screenplay for the film adaptation in collaboration with Julius Onah, who also directs. The film stars Kelvin Harrison Junior as Luce, Naomi Watts as Amy, Tim Roth as Peter, Andrea Bang as Stephanie, and Octavia Spencer as Harriet. Two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz is featured as the principal of Luce’s school.
