Ato Blankson-Wood to replace Wayne Brady in 'Ms. Blakk for President' off Broadway

Emmy winner and Grammy nominee Brady will star as real-life drag queen Joan Jett Blakk in the first production in Vineyard Theatre's 2026-27 season this fall.

Summary

• Ato Blankson-Wood will replace Wayne Brady in the title role of Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway
• Brady has departed the show for medical reasons
• Performances now start at Vineyard Theatre on October 22
• Blankson-Wood plays the first Black drag queen to run for president
• The play is written by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) and Tony nominee Tina Landau (Floyd Collins)

Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood (Slave Play, Cabaret) will star in Vineyard Theatre's production of of Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway, replacing the previously announced Emmy Award winner and Grammy nominee Wayne Brady in the title role. Brady has withdrawn from the production due to a vocal polyp and the need for vocal rest as medically prescribed.

Blankson-Wood will play Terence Alan Smith/Joan Jett Blakk alongside the previously announced Nic Ashe (Queen Sugar), Tony Award nominee Gideon Glick (Spring Awakening, To Kill a Mockingbird), Kelvin Moon Loh (Beetlejuice), Sawyer Smith (Ms. Blakk in Chicago), and Adina Verson (Liberation, Only Murders in the Building).

Ms. Blakk for President is based on the real 1992 presidential campaign of the first, and only, Black drag queen to ever run for the nation's highest office, in order to raise AIDS awareness. Performances will now start at Vineyard's Union Square venue on October 22.

Ms. Blakk for President is co-written by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight, Choir Boy) and Tony Award nominee Tina Landau (Floyd Collins), who also directs. The creative team also includes set designer David Zinn, costume designer Ari Fulton, lighting designer Cha See, sound designer Lindsay Jones, projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, props supervisor Andrew Diaz, hair and wig designer Ashley Wise, makeup designer La Sonya Gunter, music coordinator Kristy Norter, music director Steven Cuevas, and choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie.

Check back for information on Ms. Blakk for President tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Ato Blankson-Wood. (Photo courtesy of production)