The New Group stages the world premiere of the new musical Black No More, directed by Scott Elliott, in 2022. Performances take place on The Irene Diamond Stage within the Pershing Square Signature Center. Get Black No More tickets now.
Black No More is a musical based on George S. Schuyler’s satirical 1931 novel of the same name, in which he criticized both the Black and the white communities of the time for their handling of race as a commodity and an obsession that determines people’s worth. His novel is also considered the first work of Afrofuturism as it is now defined, as Schuyler prominently explores how technology can shape the futures of Black people. In the novel, a young Black man gets wind of a new machine invented by Dr. Junius Crookman that turns Black people white, purporting to “solve the American race problem.”
Having just been rejected by a white woman for his race, Disher eagerly goes to use the machine and adopts a new white identity as Matthew Fisher. He himself finds romantic success and even infiltrates a white supremacist organization, but the machine does not meet its goal. As more and more people turn white and the organization has less people to target, its members embark on a hateful quest to discover everyone’s true ancestry, even those who appear to be “one of them.”
Brandon Victor Dixon stars as Max Disher, with Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter as Dr. Junius Crookman. Trotter, best known as the co-founder and lead MC of The Roots, also wrote the show’s music and lyrics. Black No More also features a book by 12 Years A Slave screenwriter John Ridley and choreography by award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones. Scott Elliott, founding artistic director of The New Group, directs.
Get tickets to Black No More off Broadway on New York Theatre Guide today.
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Black No More is a musical adaptation of George S. Schuyler’s satirical Harlem Renaissance-era novel. It’s June 1928 in New York City, and Howard University graduate Dr. Junius Crookman promotes a mysterious machine that promises to remove the burden of race from any person of color by turning them white — Crookman’s plan to “solve the American race problem.” Black No More is an examination of race, identity and the very nature of love.
Brandon Victor Dixon is currently playing the lead in Black No More. In the new musical, Dixon plays Max Disher, a Black man who chooses to step into a machine that makes him turn white, and he admits it’s taken him a while to get a clear grasp on his character. “I'm still looking for him,” Dixon said with a chuckle. “This character is still in development.”
UPDATE: Tony Award winner Lillias White has joined the cast of Black No More. She is currently playing Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago on Broadway. A new musical adaptation of Black No More, based on Afrofuturist author George S. Schuyler’s 1931 satirical novel of the same name, will have its world premiere in 2022 at the Pershing Square Signature Center courtesy of The New Group. Performances begin January 11 ahead of a February 8 opening night, and the show will play a limited engagement through February 27.
The nicest thing I can say about Black No More, the New Group-produced musical at Signature Theatre, is that Tamika Lawrence is giving a Tony and Grammy Award-worthy performance. The cast is uniformly wonderful: Brandon Victor Dixon vamps amusingly enough despite having little actual singing or acting to do as the central Max Disher, a Black man who uses a machine to become white, and Lillias... Read more