Ephraim Sykes joins 'Black No More' Off-Broadway cast

The new musical begins performances at the Pershing Square Signature Center on January 11.

UPDATE: The full Black No More cast has now been announced, with Sykes and his fellow previously announced cast members being joined by Leanne Antonio, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Elijah A. Carter, Ryan Fitzgerald, Polanco Jones Jr., Zachary Daniel Jones, Sarah Meahl, Mary Page Nance, Oneika Phillips, Nicholas Ranauro, Malaiyka Reid, Mars Rucker, Angela M. Sauers, Katie Thompson, Akron Watson, Nyla Watson and Edward Watts.

Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes has joined the cast of the new musical Black No More, which will be presented by The New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Center. He joins previously announced cast members Lillias White, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, Jennifer Damiano, Walter Bobbie, Tamika Lawrence, Tracy Shayne, and Theo Stockman.

Sykes is known for his Tony-nominated performance as David Ruffin in the original cast of Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. He has also performed in Rent and Newsies on Broadway, and he originated the role of George Eacker in Hamilton at The Public Theater and on Broadway. Sykes was set to star as Michael Jackson in the upcoming MJ The Musical, but he departed the show in June to shoot a film.

Black No More is a musical adaptation of George S. Schuyler's 1931 satire novel. A Black man named Max Disher, living during the Harlem Renaissance, learns of a machine that turns Black people white in order to "solve the American race problem." He undergoes the procedure and his romantic and social relations improve at first, but as more people use the machine, white supremacists' hatred only grows as they try to weed out who isn't "one of them" beneath the surface.

Black No More will run from January 11 to February 27, 2022, with an opening night of February 8. The musical features a book by John Ridley, music and lyrics by Trotter, and choreography by Bill T. Jones. The New Group's founding artistic director, Scott Elliott, directs.

Get Black No More tickets now.