Gideon Glick, Adina Verson, more to join Wayne Brady in 'Ms. Blakk for President' Off-Broadway cast

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

• The Off-Broadway cast of Ms. Blakk for President includes Wayne Brady; Nic Ashe; Gideon Glick; Kelvin Moon Loh; Sawyer Smith; and Adina Verson
• Performances run at Vineyard Theatre for six weeks starting October 15
• Brady 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)

Vineyard Theatre has named the full cast of Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway, starring the previously announced Emmy Award winner and Grammy nominee Wayne Brady in the title role. Performances will run at Vineyard's Union Square venue for six weeks starting October 15.

Joining Brady (Kinky Boots, Let's Make a Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?) as Terence Alan Smith/Joan Jett Blakk are 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 a true story from 1992, when Brady's character became the first, and only, Black drag queen to ever run for president to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic. The stage adaptation of Blakk's story is described as "part campaign rally, part nightclub performance, part confessional — and all party."

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: Wayne Brady. (Photo by Jason Michael Fordham)