Wayne Brady to star in new play 'Ms. Blakk for President' off Broadway

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

Summary

• Wayne Brady will star in the new Off-Broadway play Ms. Blakk for President at Vineyard Theatre in fall 2026
• Brady plays Terence Alan Smith/Joan Jett Blakk — 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 announced the first production in its Off-Broadway season: Ms. Blakk for President, starring Emmy Award winner and Grammy nominee Wayne Brady in the title role. Performances will run at Vineyard's Union Square venue in fall 2026 at dates to be announced.

Brady (Kinky Boots, Let's Make a Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?) plays real-life drag performer and activist Terence Alan Smith, otherwise known as Joan Jett Blakk, who gained national attention by becoming the first (and only) Black drag queen to ever run for president. It was 1992, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, spurring Blakk and the newly formed Queer Nation Chicago on to their political journey. The stage adaptation of this 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. Additional cast and creative team members have yet to be announced.

Vineyard will also announce two additional productions in its 2026-27 season at a later date.

Photo credit: Wayne Brady. (Photo by Jason Michael Fordham)