Broadway

The family's all here! Take a first look at [*Mother Play*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/31354-mother-play-on-broadway) on Broadway, a new [family drama](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/learn-about-all-the-family-dramas-on-broadway-this-season) starring [Jessica Lange](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/all-the-times-jessica-lange-did-theatre), [Jim...

See photos of Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, Celia Keenan-Bolger in 'Mother Play'

1 mother play-1200x600-NYTG

The world-premiere family drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel is currently playing on Broadway at the Hayes Theater for a limited run through June 16.

Oh, Broadway! Following its critically acclaimed, extended run off Broadway this spring, [Cole Escola](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/cole-escola)’s [*Oh, Mary!*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/37743-oh-mary) will play a limited Broadway engagement this summer. Performances will run at the [Lyceum Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/lyceum-theatre-ny) from June 26 to September 15, with opening night on July 11.

*Oh, Mary!* is a wacky, largely...

‘Oh, Mary!’ to transfer to Broadway this summer

oh mary review-1200x600-NYTG

The critically acclaimed play, written by and starring comedian Cole Escola, puts a humorous spin on the story of former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

Every rom-com needs a great song list. In the Huey Lewis and the News jukebox musical [*The Heart of Rock and Roll*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/36584-the-heart-of-rock-and-roll), the band's hit songs from the '80s are seamlessly threaded into the lighthearted love story of coworkers Bobby (Corey Cott) and Cassandra (McKenzie Kurtz), who team up to make their dreams of success come true.

“The Power of Love,” “Stuck With You,” “If This Is It,” and more fan-favorite ear candy appears...

All the Huey Lewis songs in 'The Heart of Rock and Roll' on Broadway

4 heart of rock and roll-1200x600-NYTG

The critically acclaimed jukebox musical rom-com rocks with dozens of Huey Lewis and the News hits including "The Power of Love" and "Stuck With You."

April 23 is World Book Day, and Broadway is a feast for book lovers this season. There are numerous [new play and musical adaptations of novels](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/from-page-to-stage-how-bestselling-books-became-broadway-blockbusters) on stage this season: [*The Wiz*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27115-the-wiz-tickets), [*The Great Gatsby*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/38749-the-great-gatsby-on-broadway), [*Water for...

Broadway shows to see based on your favorite book

9 mary jane-1200x600-NYTG

We're celebrating World Book Day by providing play and musical recommendations for fans of hot new bestsellers, classic novels, and popular authors.

Nominees for the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards have been announced. The annual awards ceremony honors the best of both Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre, with both types of shows competing against each other in many categories.

The Off-Broadway musical *Dead Outlaw* received the most nominations with nine. Tied for second, with seven awards each, are the Off-Broadway musical *The Connector* and the currently running Broadway play...

2024 Outer Critics Circle nominations announced

Outer Critics Circle

The annual awards honor the best of both Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre from the previous years, and numerous currently running shows were recognized.

Step right up and see [*Water for Elephants*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/34684-water-for-elephants-on-broadway) on Broadway! Circus and theatre meet in the stage adaptation of Sara Gruen's bestselling historical romance novel, which captivated audiences on the page and screen and now does so live.

*The Flash*'s [Grant Gustin](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/grant-gustin) stars as Jacob Jankowski, who runs away with the Benzini Bros. Circus and falls in love with...

Everything you need to know about 'Water for Elephants' on Broadway

w4e first look-1200x600-NYTG

Grant Gustin and Isabelle McCalla currently star in the critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Sara Gruen's bestselling circus-themed novel from 2006.

The circus is staying in town! *Water for Elephants* on Broadway has released a new block of tickets for performances through February 2, 2025 at the [Imperial Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/imperial-theatre). Get [*Water for Elephants* tickets](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/34684-water-for-elephants-on-broadway) now.

Adapted from the [bestselling 2006 book by Sara...

'Water for Elephants' tickets now on sale through February 2025

3 water for elephants-1200x600-NYTG

The critically acclaimed, circus-themed Broadway musical, which stars *The Flash*'s Grant Gustin, is based on the bestselling 2006 novel by Sara Gruen.

Take a first look at [Rachel McAdams](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/rachel-mcadams) on Broadway! The Oscar-nominated actress known for films like [*The Notebook*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/33744-the-notebook-the-musical), *Mean Girls*, and *Spotlight* is making her Broadway debut in the title role of [*Mary Jane*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/6955-mary-jane-tickets), playing at the [Samuel J. Friedman...

See photos of Rachel McAdams and the cast of 'Mary Jane' on Broadway

8 mary jane-1200x600-NYTG

The Academy Award nominee makes her Broadway debut in the title role in Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nominee Amy Herzog's drama about a single mother.

Discover where [Alicia Keys](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/all-the-times-alicia-keys-did-theatre)'s own dreams were made. The 16-time Grammy Award-winning musician has been working on the new Broadway musical [*Hell's Kitchen*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/37579-hells-kitchen-broadway) for over a decade, but its origins reach back to the '90s.

[Loosely inspired by her formative...

How 'Hell's Kitchen' reflects and differs from Alicia Keys' life

hells kitchen bway-1200x600-NYTG

Keys's song catalog makes up this new musical about a young girl coming of age in Manhattan — a story inspired by, but not identical to, Keys's own upbringing.

Rock on! And on! And on! Broadway currently sports three very different shows featuring rock music, a diverse and exciting genre that never gets old. Not to mention, the shows feature rock legends like Pete Townshend, Huey Lewis, and (sort of) Fleetwood Mac.

These shows include the new musical [*The Heart of Rock and Roll*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/36584-the-heart-of-rock-and-roll) at the [James Earl Jones...

Rock music takes the stage in three Broadway shows this spring

rock music-1200x600-NYTG

Songs by rock bands The Who and Huey Lewis and The News appear in high-energy musicals alongside a new play with music inspired by the 1970s rock scene.

It's got a little mo' time. [*Ain't No Mo'*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25907-aint-no-mo-tickets) will extend its Broadway by one week. Originally set to close on December 18, the show will now run through December 23 at the [Belasco Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/belasco-theatre).

The extension follows the viral spread of the #SaveAintNoMo campaign, launched online by the show's playwright and star, Jordan E. Cooper. He wrote an open letter calling for support for work, like *Ain't No Mo'*, by artists of color on Broadway.

Celebrities including Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, Queen Latifah, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, and Sara Ramirez all bought out performances of *Ain't No Mo'* this week in support of the campaign.

Reverend Al Sharpton, Swizz Beatz, D-Nice, Derrick Hayes & Pinky Cole, Jeremy O. Harris, Denee Benton, Debbie Allen, and Dominique Morrisseau also contributed to the cause.

*Ain't No Mo'* made history by making 27-year-old Cooper the youngest Black American playwright ever on Broadway. His satirical play, which first premiered to acclaim at The Public Theater, questions what would happen if the U.S. government offered all Black Americans a one-way trip to Africa to solve racism.

A series of sketches show why the characters do, or don't, board the plane, exploring what it's like to be Black in today's America.

Get *Ain't No Mo'* tickets now.!

[[LT - CTA - 250](//images.ctfassets.net/6pezt69ih962/1t6HRGmhlYl70k6PmR0mOZ/3caac861bc1d4233cd7844652c925623/LT-CTA-250.png)](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25907-aint-no-mo-tickets)

*Photo credit: Fedna Jacquet, Shannon Matesky, Marchant Davis, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Ebony Marshall-Oliver in Ain't No Mo'. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Ain't No Mo' extends by one week, following campaign to save Broadway show

aint no mo review-1200x600-NYTG

Children under 4 are not permitted in the theatre.

Broadway COVID Protocol

Ain't No Mo' on Broadway - NYC

Genre: Play

Ain't No Mo' on Broadway

Ain't No Mo' on Broadway - Hero

Ain't No Mo' on Broadway - NYC Product Media

Aint no mo new header

ANM media 1

ANM media 2

ANM media 3

ANM media 4

Ain't No Mo Rehearsal Image 2

Ain't No Mo' Poster

Following a world premiere at The Public Theater in 2019, *Ain't No Mo'* will opens on Broadway in fall 2022. With *Ain't No Mo'*, Jordan E. Cooper becomes the youngest Broadway playwright of all time at 27 years old. Get *Ain't No Mo'* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

*Ain't No Mo'* is a play that imagines what would happen if America offered all Black Americans a one-way ticket to Africa, and most of them took the country up on it, believing it a better option than the racism, subjugation, and discrimination they see as otherwise impossible to overcome on American soil. Cooper's show plays out over a series of vignettes that take place before, during, and after that fictional Flight 1619 (a reference to the year the first enslaved Africans reportedly arrived in the then-colonies).

The first vignette is set on November 4, 2008, the day after Barack Obama was elected president, and the Black ensemble lays their "Brother 'Righttocomplain'" to rest at an extravagant funeral that symbolizes promise. But the subsequent vignettes deal with how that hope was walked back — and the grievances represented by "right-to-complain" resurrected" — following the election of Donald Trump in 2016. A flight attendant named Peaches, who oversees Flight 1619, guides the audience through this satirical play, which calls out people of all races in its exploration of systemic racism in America.

The premiere of *Ain't No Mo'* off Broadway at [The Public Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/public-theater) took place when Cooper was just 24 years old. The New York Times named the show a Critic's Pick, and the [five-star New York Theatre Guide review](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/review-of-aint-no-mo-at-the-public-theater) of the Public production reads, "This is more than a story about specific characters. It is a story of a diaspora withdrawing itself from a stage on which it never intended to be." Cooper himself also acted in the show as Peaches, and he does so again in *Ain't No Mo'* on Broadway.

Director Stevie Walker-Webb makes his Broadway debut with the show; he previously directed its Off-Broadway premiere, winning an Obie Award for his work. *Ain't No Mo'* is produced by Oscar winner Lee Daniels, the first Black person to solo produce an Oscar-winning film (*The Monster's Ball*, which earned Halle Berry a Best Actress award). His past producing credits include the movies *The Butler* and *Precious*, and the TV show *Empire*. *Ain't No Mo'* is his first Broadway production.

The Belasco Theatre, which houses *Ain't No Mo'* in New York, was last home to another show that had its New York premiere at the Public: the Bob Dylan-scored musical [*Girl From the North Country*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/girl-from-the-north-country).

## How long is the *Ain't No Mo'* play?

*Ain't No Mo'* runs 90 minutes with no intermission.

Tickets to *Ain't No Mo'* are on sale now.

Ain't No Mo' - NYC - New York Theatre Guide

Find dates and book tickets to see the show Ain't No Mo' on Broadway at Belasco Theatre from New York Theatre Guide.

Ain't No Mo' on Broadway Tickets | Belasco Theatre | New York Theatre Guide

Oscar nominee Lee Daniels makes his Broadway debut as the producer of this searing comedy about what it means to be Black in America today. Find out why The New York Times calls *Ain't No Mo'* "thrilling, bewildering, campy, shrewd, mortifying, scary, devastating and deep," and learn more about tickets today.

Throughout *Ain't No Mo'* on Broadway, Peaches, a drag-queen gate attendant for Flight 1619, guides the audience through a collection of humorous, fearless, and unabashedly profane sketches that answer the central question. *Ain't No Mo'* uses satire, minstrelsy, allegory, and more to explore different Black American experiences that would theoretically drive them to board a plane away from here — or not. But the show also explores what America loses without Black culture and vice versa, and whether separation from racism is truly possible.

*Ain't No Mo'* marked the professional debut of playwright Jordan E. Cooper in 2019, when he was just 23 years old. The world premiere at The Public Theater received rave reviews, and a D.C. production did the same before the return of *Ain't No Mo'* to New York, this time on Broadway.

## What to Watch For

- In *Ain't No Mo'* off and on Broadway, Jordan E. Cooper stars in his own show as Peaches. Multiple other Off-Broadway cast members return for the Broadway premiere, including Crystal Lucas-Perry, Fedna Jacquet, Marchánt Davis, and Ebony Marshall-Oliver.
- Cooper originally didn't plan to play Peaches, but he ended up having to step into the role ahead of the Public Theater premiere. As he later told The New York Times, "It felt so natural, so organic, and I felt this sense of freedom in exploring my femininity."
- Flight 1619 is named for the year the first enslaved Africans arrived in the U.S. colonies, according to historical record.
- *Ain't No Mo'* references multiple other pieces of Black media and pop culture, including the Real Housewives TV franchise, Alice Walker's *The Color Purple*, and George C. Wolfe's *The Colored Museum*. One example is Peaches herself: *The Colored Museum* also features a stewardess, dressed in pink, overseeing those on a “celebrity slave ship.”
- Besides being the youngest Black American Broadway playwright in history, Cooper is also the youngest Black showrunner in American TV history, for *The Ms. Pat Show*.
- Lee Daniels, who made history as the first Black lead producer of an Oscar-winning film (*Monster’s Ball*), makes his Broadway producing debut with *Ain't No Mo'*.

Ain't No Mo' - NYC - TT

[*Ain't No Mo'*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25907-aint-no-mo-tickets), a badass sketch comedy about the Black experience in America and a mythical airline flight in response to it, is a theatrical excursion you don’t want to miss. This play is fanged, ferocious, and funny as all get out.

Written by and featuring Jordan E. Cooper, who at age 27 is the youngest Black American playwright in Broadway history, the show ran at The Public Theater in 2019. Like George C. Wolfe’s play *The Colored Museum* as well as TV’s *In Living Color*, the show knows the power of pointed comedy to shake things up.

*Ain't No Mo'* is built as a series of vignettes targeting diverse issues, each with varying success at hitting a bullseye. A few skits could use pruning. Expletives fly like nobody’s business – 49 F-bombs and 58 N-words, per a scan of the script. That makes sense for a comedy with no interest in being polite. 

The only thing that’s really shocking in this play, directed with go-for-it zest by Stevie Walker-Webb, is the cast’s bow. That’s when it hits you that just six actors played 26 characters. The ensemble – Cooper, Marchant Davis, Fedna Jacquet, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, and Shannon Matesky – is a jumbo jet of talent.

The play begins at a funeral on November 4, 2008. Pastor Freeman notes that the late Brother Righttocomplain, a devoted member of the African American community, will miss out on the new world awaiting Blacks with the election of Barack Obama as president. “Ain't no mo’ discrimination,” the preacher says. Yeah, as if. News reports of violence against Black people eventually drown him out.

The show shifts to airport gate 1619, wittily conjured by set designer Scott Pask. Flight agent Peaches, a loud and proud drag queen, explains that African American Airlines is preparing to board all Black U.S. residents for its final one-way free trip to Africa. 

“The powers that be have reassured me there’s room for everyone,” says Peaches. The entire story of African Americans in the U.S. will be contained in a magical carry-on, Miss Bag. That includes everything from monumental memories of Rosa Parks to, says Peaches, “Oprah’s wagon of fat.” The play returns to this gate a few times.

Cooper isn’t shy about getting serious. At a clinic, a woman awaits her turn for an abortion. As she talks with her boyfriend, another woman eavesdrops. Like a plot twist out of Toni Morrison’s novel *Beloved*, both women choose to end their pregnancies to prevent their kids’ inevitable future traumas. A later vignette at a women’s prison leads to a powerful conclusion.

In an incisive parody, wealthy African Americans with no intention of boarding the flight to Africa are forced to reckon with their Blackness. Turns out it’s been chained and buried for years in the basement of their mansion. 

The best and most outlandish skit takes aim at the phoniness of reality TV with the taping of a reunion episode of *The Real Baby Mamas of the South Side*. There are over-the-top outfits (costume designer Emilio Sosa goes for broke) and rotten behavior this brand has cultivated. In a provocative twist, the new cast member is transracial. The other Baby Mamas have a lot to say about that – and I won’t spoil a word of it.

In the end, *Ain't No Mo'* makes its way back to African American Airlines, where Peaches tries to load that precious satchel containing Black history. But there’s something amiss. Who’s left holding Miss Bag makes for a stunning conclusion.

[*Ain't No Mo’* is at the Belasco Theatre. Get *Ain't No Mo’* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25907-aint-no-mo-tickets)

*Photo credit: Fedna Jacquet, Shannon Matesky, Marchant Davis, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Ebony Marshall-Oliver in Ain't No Mo'. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Ain't No Mo' review — talented ensemble takes flight in this sharp Broadway comedy

The Belasco Theatre originally opened as the Stuyvesant Theatre on October 16, 1907 with a production of *A Grand Army Man*. The Belasco Theatre was designed by George Keister for impresario David Belasco, who renamed the theatre for himself in 1910.

The first production to be staged under the theatre's new name was *The Lily*, an adaptation by Belasco of Leroux's *Le Lys*. In 1931, the theatre was leased to Katherine Cornell, and the Shubert Organization purchased it in 1948. From 1949 to 1953, the building was leased to NBC for broadcasting, before it was once again used as a traditional theatre.

The Belasco, located on 44th St. near the corner of Sixth Avenue, is the easternmost Broadway theatre.

## How to get to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway

The Belasco Theatre is nearest to the 42nd Street - Bryant Park subway stop on the B, D, F, M, and 7 lines. There are also two bus stops near the theatre, accessible by multiple bus lines: 6th Ave/W 44th St. on the M55, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, and QM20 lines; and 6th Ave/West 45th St. on the QM1, QM5, QM6, M5, and M7 lines.

## Restaurants near the Belasco Theatre

Popular restaurants near the Belasco Theatre include Junior's (American), Carmine's (Italian), Havana Central (Cuban), and Connolly's Irish pub. [Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

'Ain't No Mo' extends by one week, following campaign to save Broadway show

Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock exclusive New York theatre updates!