Manhattan Theatre Club and Signature Theatre's Off-Broadway world premiere co-production of Dominique Morisseau's Bad Kreyòl officially opened October 28. Performances will continue through December 1 at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Read the reviews here.
The cast includes Pascale Armand (Eclipsed) as Gigi, Fedna Jacquet (Ain't No Mo) as Lovelie, Andy Lucien (sandblasted) as Thomas, Kelly McCreary (Passing Strange) as Simone, and Jude Tibeau (The Hot Wing King) as Pita. Casting is by Sujotta Pace, with additional casting by Caparelliotis Casting.
See photos from opening night in the gallery below.
Jude Carl Vincent, Kelly McCreary, Andy Lucien, Toree Alexandre, Fedna Jacquet, Jude Tibeau, Haydee Zeildeth, Jimmy Keys, Lo Williams, Tiffany Nichole Greene, Dominique Morisseau, and Earon Nealey
Andy Lucien, Toree Alexandre, Kelly McCreary, Fedna Jacquet, and Jude Tibeau
Chris Jennings, Scott Kaplan, Lynne Meadow, Dominique Morisseau, Nicki Hunter, Beth Whitaker, Emily Shooltz, and Tim McClimon
Tiffany Nichole Greene, Regina King, and Dominique Morisseau
Eisa Davis
Christina Sajous
Steve H. Broadnax III
Elijah Jones
Sidney DuPont
Dominique Morisseau and Tiffany Nichole Greene
Sydney James Harcourt
Ryan Jamaal Swain
Heather Alicia Simms
Michelle Wilson
Aya Cash
Jared Dixon and Christie Dixon
Donovan Rogers
Jonathan McCrory and Hope Boykin
Lynn Nottage
Edwidge Danticat and Fedo Boyer
Jimmy Keys and Dominique Morisseau
Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker
The work, which serves as the completion of Morisseau's residency with Signature, centers on Simone, a first-generation Haitian American, and her cousin Gigi, Haitian-born and raised, who reunite to honor their grandmother's dying wish for them to reconnect.
“My residency with Signature has given me such a gift as a playwright that I'm only realizing as it comes to an end how much comfort it has provided me,” Morisseau said in a statement. “For the past five to seven years of my life (thank you, pandemic), I have not known the angst that many of us playwrights are familiar with, that unsettled feeling of not knowing where the play you have written will be produced, if anywhere. I forgot what it has meant to be without a theatre home, with no brick and mortar to call yours as a playwright. I have been privileged and very fortunate to have the peace of mind that the work I'm creating will not go into the abyss, that there is a whole community ready to welcome my new pages and prepare them for the stage.”
Tiffany Nichole Greene is directing. The creative team also includes scenic designer Jason Sherwood; costume designer Haydee Zelideth; lighting designer Alan C. Edwards; co-sound designers Curtis Craig and Jimmy Keys a.k.a. J. Keys; props supervisor Ned Cían Gaynor; hair, wig, and makeup designer Earon Nealey; cultural specialist Ann C. James; and Haitian language consultant Winnie Lamour.
MTC and Signature have also hosted several events throughout the production’s run, including a Haitian Community Night and a Consuming the Caribbean Talkback October 15, a Student Night October 18, a Black Theatre Night October 24, and a Haitian Vendor Market October 26. Programming will continue with an LGBTQIA+ Community Night November 7, which will include a post-show talkback.
Visit BadKreyol.com for tickets.
