In 2010, I witnessed the work of playwright Terrell Alvin McCraney for the first time. I knew immediately that his would prove to be an important voice in the theater. Since that fateful day I reviewed Marcus at A.C.T. — his third of the trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays beginning with The Brothers Size and In the Red and Brown Water — McCraney has gone on to write Head of Passes, Choir Boy (for which he received a Tony nom), and — as an ensemble member for the great Steppenwolf company — Ms. Blakk for President, among others. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney and Gil Cates, Jr.
His background makes him a perfect choice for his new role: Effective immediately, McCraney joins Los Angeles’s Geffen Playhouse as the new artistic director, working with the staff to build the 2024/2025 season, working with Executive Director / CEO Gil Cates, Jr., and reporting to the theater’s Board of Directors. McCraney will program new works along with re-envisioned classics with a focus on innovative storytelling, community engagement and audience experience. McCraney will set the strategic artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters, as well as lead the artistic and production teams.
The big hope, of course, is that the Geffen will begin to hire more visionary directors and more powerful casts and definitely better scripts. While the technical aspects of the plays are always extraordinary, the results in the last year — including Ava: The Secret Conversations, The Ants, The Lonely Few, and King Liz — have been higgledy-piggledy at best. Will they still be producing magic acts and one-person shows? My hopes are with you, Mr. McCraney.
photos by Erik Carter
