5 Reasons You Gotta See Choir Boy on Broadway:
1. Jeremy Pope is IN. CAN. DESCENT. in the lead role of a gay high school student dealing with bullying and interpersonal relationships at a religious all-boys private school. He radiates light off the stage and into the audience every second that he’s on stage, which is pretty much the entire 90 minutes of the play’s run time. Thankfully, we’ll all get to see him again on Broadway in a couple of months as a Temptation in Ain’t Too Proud.
NOTE: Pose star Ryan Jamaal Swain is now playing the role for the remainder of the run. One can expect that he will be just as incandescent as Jeremy in the role!
2. Tarell Alvin McCraney’s writing. Tarell is the MacArthur Fellow “genuis grant” recipient who wrote Moonlight, so it’s no surprise that he knows how to tell a story. His exhilarating Choir Boy is heartbreaking and hilarious all at once. Tarell’s dialogue is vivid, raw, and will leave you breathless.
Photos: Matthew Murphy
3. Chuck Cooper’s staggeringly good performance as the headmaster. It isn’t easy to find the nuances of this stern character, but Chuck finds them and lets us inside the heart and mind of this decent and loving man. Chuck Cooper is EVERYTHING.
4. Camille A. Brown’s choreography, which helps keep musical theater lovers satisfied during this play with music. There’s a few rousing songs with movement that is so raw and exciting that you’ll want to jump out of your seat and give them standing ovations. Fresh off Once On This Island, Camille proves once again that she is a force to be reckoned with in the world of choreography.
5. The entire cast is stellar. From Nicholas L. Ashe’s lovable “Junior” to J. Quinton’ Johnson’s portrayal of a bully, every single cast member shines. This is 90 minutes of non-stop extraordinarily good acting from every single person on the stage, even though most of them making their Broadway debuts. Future Megastar Alert x8!
Choir Boy runs through March 10.