THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN Officially Opens on Broadway Tonight; Meet the Cast! – Broadway World

Thoughts of a Colored Man officially opens on Broadway tonight, October 13, at the John Golden Theatre.

As the sun rises on a single day in the pulsing heart of Brooklyn, seven Black men are about to discover the extraordinary - together. By Keenan Scott II, one of today's boldest new voices, Thoughts of a Colored Man blends spoken word, slam poetry, rhythm, and humor into a daringly universal new play. Welcome to the vibrant inner life of being Black, proud, and thriving in the 21st century.

The Thoughts of a Colored Man ensemble cast features Dylln Burnside (FX's "Pose,"), Bryan Terrell Clark (Hamilton), Da'Vinchi (Starz's upcoming "Black Mafia Family"), Grammy Award nominee Luke James (Showtime's "The Chi"), Tony Award nominee Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Grammy Award nominee Tristan Mack Wilds (HBO's "The Wire"), and Esau Pritchett ("Prodigal Son").

Meet the cast below!

A multi-hyphenate performer, creator, and recording artist, Burnside has appeared in notable stage, television, and film projects. He currently stars as Ricky in Ryan Murphy's and FX's ground-breaking and Emmy-nominated series, "Pose." He first captivated audiences with his Broadway debut, starring as Anthony in 2014's Holler if Ya Hear Me, a hip-hop musical inspired by the music and lyrics of Tupac Shakur. He also appeared in NBC's "Peter Pan Live!" and the HBO series "High Maintenance," all while completing his final year at the prestigious CAP21 conservatory for music theatre and The New School where he earned a bachelor's degree in Media Studies and Writing. Last year, Burnside hosted the series "Prideland" for PBS. The series explored LGBTQ+ identity in the South and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. The Pensacola, FL native began performing professionally at the age of 12 as a member of the hip-hop/R&B boy band 3D, which afforded him the opportunity to tour the country performing original music. Burnside released his debut solo single last year and is currently working on new music. In addition to his performance work, he is passionate about producing quality arts content that promotes social change and works with students at schools across the country about the importance of arts education as a means of personal empowerment and self-expression.

On Broadway, Clark appeared as George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. He made his Broadway debut playing the iconic role of Marvin Gaye in Motown: The Musical and is featured on the Grammy Award-nominated Original Broadway Cast Album. Additional theater credits include Fences at The Pasadena Playhouse opposite Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett and the Mark Taper Forum's production of Immediate Family directed by Phylicia Rashad. Clark will be seen in Shonda Rhymes' "Inventing Anna" on Netflix and the upcoming Disney+ film, Sneakerella. Most recently, Clark was seen on the TNT drama "Snowpiercer" and NBC's "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." Numerous television appearances include Ava DuVernay's 2020 Peabody Award-winning Netflix miniseries "When They See Us," "Cherish The Day" and "Queen Sugar" on OWN, CBS' "NCIS: New Orleans," "Blue Bloods," "Person of Interest," "Unforgettable," "CSI: NY," and "The Unit." He has also had roles on NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura," Fox's "Empire," USA Network's "Royal Pains" as well as BET's "The New Edition Story" and "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." In addition, Clark appeared in the Warner Bros. film, Collateral Beauty. As a singer, songwriter, and producer, he was co-writer on Mary J. Blige's "Irreversible" on the album My Life II and has performed with such artists as Maxwell, Brandy, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker, Michael Bubl, and many others. Clark is the co-founder of inDEFINED, an initiative launched in 2017 that inspires and teaches young people to use their voices to erase constrictive labels in our society. He graduated from the Yale School of Drama and Temple University. He is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Esau Pritchett received a B.A. in Performing Arts Theatre from Oakland University. A resident of New York City since 1998, he has appeared in numerous Regional Theatre productions across the country and guest starring roles on TV shows over the past couple of decades. Recently recurred as Mr. David for two seasons on Fox's primetime drama "Prodigal Son". He currently has a recurring role on the STARZ Network drama "Power: Book II Raising Kanaan".

Da'Vinchi is a first-generation Haitian-American born and raised in Brooklyn. He is an actor whose unique personality, charismatic good looks, and raw talent have created a considerable amount of buzz in Hollywood in just three short years. In that time period, he first booked Marvel's "Jessica Jones," then joined the cast of "Grown-ish," a Freeform spin-off of the hit series "Black-ish." He then went on to appear on FOX's "Lethal Weapon," Amazon's "The Boys," and could most recently be seen in a heavily recurring role on the CW's hit series "All American," now in its third season. Following his television success, Da'Vinchi caught the attention of acclaimed director Gavin O'Connor, who cast him in the Warner Bros. feature The Way Back starring Ben Affleck. Da'Vinchi's star continues to rise in 2021, booking a lead role in the highly anticipated Starz series, "Black Mafia Family," from Executive Producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Da'Vinchi plays the notorious Terry Flenory who, alongside his brother Meech, ran one of the most successful and notorious drug operations in the country in 1980s Detroit. After a whirlwind few years, Da'Vinchi couldn't be more excited to continue his journey and finally take to the Broadway stage!

Luke James has become one of the most watched multi-hyphenate talents in the entertainment industry today. This year, James can be seen in the critically acclaimed Showtime drama series "The Chi," and he recently recurred opposite Cynthia Erivo in "Genius: Aretha," exploring Aretha Franklin's musical genius and incomparable career. Additional television credits include: the hit FOX/Lee Daniels series "Star," HBO's "Insecure," USA's "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.," and his role as R&B singer Johnny Gill on BET's "The Bobby Brown Story." On the film front, James appeared in the smash hit Universal Pictures comedy Little opposite Issa Rae, Regina Hall, and Marsai Martin. In music, James released his album, to feel love/d in January 2020 which garnered a 2021 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album marking the third Grammy nomination of Luke's career. Born and raised in New Orleans, Luke was immersed in the rich musical heritage of the city at an early age, even taking up the saxophone for a number of years. He got his start professionally singing background for Tyrese and went on to write for top artists including Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, and Snoh Aalegra, to name a few. As James expanded his solo career, he went on to perform alongside the late Prince and open for Beyonc's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. In 2012, he received his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance for his hit song "I Want You" from his first mixtape #Luke and received his second Grammy nomination in 2015 for Best R&B Song for "Options ft. Rick Ross," from his self-titled debut album Luke James. Luke currently splits his time between Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, where he is hard at work on his multitude of projects.

Broadway/London: The Scottsboro Boys (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway: City Center Encores!, New Federal, Vineyard, La MaMa. Thoughts of a Colored Man at Arena Stage, Syracuse Stage, and Center Stage. Other regional: Guthrie Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Westport Playhouse, Two River, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Awards: Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, two Barrymore Awards (five nominations). Numerous visiting professorships. Faculty: National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. @forrestmcclend1 http://www.forrestmcclendon.com

Tristan "Mack" Wilds is an actor, Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter, and producer from New York. The multi-faceted entertainer became widely popular from his breakout roles as Michael Lee on the critically acclaimed HBO series, "The Wire," and starring as Dixon Wilson on the hit remake "90210" on the CW. Wilds has since appeared on notable television series such as Fox's "Shots Fired" and VH1's "The Breaks" and feature films such as George Lucas' Red Tails and The Secret Life of Bees alongside heavy hitters Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning. Not to mention, Wilds also appeared as the lead in Adele's "Hello" music video, which has garnered almost over 3 billion views, quickly becoming one of the fastest music videos to reach a billion views. In more recent news, Wilds will star in the Kevin Durant executive produced series, "Swagger," one of the first original series on Apple+, which is executive produced and directed by Reggie Bythewood.

A proud native of Florence, Alabama, Garrett Turner is an actor, singer, poet, and playwright. As a Jesus-loving free Black man, he believes in the power of both joy and righteous indignation as tools for liberation. He has acted in television shows such as Law & Order: SVU and Madam Secretary. Some of his theater credits include originating a role in the world premiere of Thoughts of a Colored Man at Syracuse Stage and Baltimore Center Stage, playing Bayano in Bayano at the National Black Theatre, Jay Jackson in The Royale at Theatrical Outfit, Vertus in the post-Broadway regional premiere of Holler If Ya Hear Me at True Colors Theatre, Anthony in Half Time at Paper Mill Playhouse, Chad Deity in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Asolo Repertory Theatre, the White Knight in Lookingglass Alice at Baltimore Center Stage, Delray in Memphis at Mason Street Warehouse, Benny in In The Heights at Aurora Theatre, and Mr. Franklin/Mr. Venus in Passing Strange at Playhouse on Park. Turner was a 2020 Arts & Social Justice Fellow at Emory University and has also taught at Hunter College in Manhattan. He is currently writing a musical, entitled Eleanor: A Church Story, about a young Black girl from Tennessee who stages a mini revolution in her own church when they ban her from preaching because she's a girl. Turner is an Emory University grad and Marshall Scholar. He holds two Masters degrees, one from Queen Mary University of London and one from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. @garrettmturner Psalm 115:1

Bjorn is a NYC based actor born and raised in Chicago, IL. Off-Broadway Theater: Public Theater - MLIMA'S TALE. Off-Off-Broadway: Ensemble Studio Theater: Travisville. Other Regional Theater: Studio Theater (DC) - Pipeline, Cleveland Playhouse - Pipeline & Fairfield People's Light Theater - MUDROW, Actors Theater of Louisville - Do You Feel Anger, Guthrie Theater: Julius Caesar/Comedy of Errors Pittsburgh Public Theater - Clybourne Park. Film/TV: Alpha House (Amazon), Sleepy Hollow (FOX), Blacklist (NBC), Demolition (Film) MFA: Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University, http://www.bjornduapty.com

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THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN Officially Opens on Broadway Tonight; Meet the Cast! - Broadway World