The first guest joining us on Off-Book is the award winning playwright Dominique Morisseau. Her play, Skeleton Crew, the final installment in her trilogy of plays about her hometown of Detroit, starts previews on January 6, 2016 at the Atlantic Stage 2 Theater.

Skeleton Crew is a tale about how a makeshift family of workers at the last exporting auto plant in the city navigate the possibility of foreclosure. Power dynamics shift and they are pushed to the limits of survival. When the line between blue collar and white collar gets blurred, how far over the lines are they willing to step?

Dominique Morisseau, writer and actress, is an alumnus of the Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, the Women’s Project Playwrights Lab, and Lark Playwrights’ Workshop. Among her playwriting credits are: Detroit ’67 (Public Theater; Classical Theatre of Harlem/NBT; Northlight Theatre), Sunset  Baby (Labyrinth Theater Co – NYC; Gate Theater- London), and Follow Me To Nellie’s (O’Neill; Premiere Stages). Her produced one-acts include: Third Grade (Fire This Time Festival); Black at Michigan (Cherry Lane); Socks, Roses Are Played  Out and Love and Nappiness(Center Stage; ATH); love.lies.liberation (The NewGroup), Bumrush (Hip Hop Theater Festival) and The Masterpiece (Harlem9/HSA). Dominique is currently developing a 3-play cycle on her hometown of Detroit, entitled “The Detroit Projects.” Detroit ’67 is the first of the series. The second play, Paradise Blue, was developed with Voice and Vision, the Hansberry Project at ACT, New York Theatre Workshop, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Public Theater. Dominique’s work has also been published in NY Times bestseller “Chicken Soup for the African American Soul” and in the Harlem-based literary journal “Signifyin’ Harlem.” She is a Jane Chambers Playwriting Award honoree, a two-time NAACP Image Award recipient, a runner-up for the Princess Grace Award, a recipient of the Elizabeth George commission from South Coast Rep, a commendation honoree for the Primus Prize by the American Theatre Critics Association, winner of the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, the Weissberger Award for Playwriting, the U of M – Detroit Center Emerging Leader Award, a Lark/PoNY (Playwrights of New York) Fellow, and a recent recipient of the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama. She is an artist that believes wholeheartedly in the power and strength of community.

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He originated the role of Bobby in the Tony-winning musical Memphis. Other NYC: The 25^th Annual…Spelling Bee and The Wiz. Film/TV: “The Good Wife” and “The Electric Company” (the Silent E Soloist). He is a member of the hip-hop improve group Freestyle Love Supreme which you’ll be able to see why in his interview towards the end. He was also seen in one of our favorite new Netflix original series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt as the archnemisis of Tittus Burgess‘ character, Titus.

Fresh from his Tony Award-winning, nightly show-stopping performance in as the beloved Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, as well as Broadway performances in Memphis and Spelling Bee, James Monroe Iglehart makes his 54 Below debut with How the Heck Did I Get Here? James relives his obsession with being cool, getting girls and a becoming a star told through funny childhood stories and songs ranging from R&B, Hip-Hop, Gospel and Broadway (and maybe a country tune!). CBS New York says that “Iglehart’s performance is a classic example of traditional song-and-dance Broadway brilliance. His charisma shines almost as bright as his smile, and he has created a genie that you never want to leave the stage. It’s Iglehart’s warmth that seems to leap off the stage and into the delighted hearts of lucky theatergoers of all ages, warmth that is so charming and so magnetic that it’s almost palpable.” Come see the “fun-loving, fast-talking, smooth-singing Genie” that all of Broadway is talking about!

How the Heck Did I Get Here? May 4 & 18, 2015 

GET YOUR TICKERS HERE

Broadway Black Box host, Andrew Shade, sits down with the Tony winning performer to really find out how the heck did he get here! Check out the interview below and don’t forget to comment and tell us what you think!

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