L to R (top to bottom): Myles Alexander Evans, Nicco Annan, Jay Jones, Armand Fields, Bjorn Dupaty, and Calvin Thompson.
The Alliance Theatre is excited to announce the cast of its upcoming regional premiere of The Hot Wing King. Rehearsals started today. Written by P-Valley creator, Katori Hall, the Alliance’s production of The Hot Wing King marks Hall’s first time directing the 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning play for drama. Kicking off the second half of the Alliance’s 2022-2023 season, The Hot Wing King will run on The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre from February 10 – March 5, 2023.
In The Hot Wing King, Cordell is poised to leave this year’s Memphis “Hot Wang Festival” victorious. Supported by his partner, Dwayne, and his best friends who serve as his fry crew “The New Wing Order,” the group settles in for a fun night of pre-competition prep. However, when a family emergency forces Dwayne’s troubled nephew into the mix, winning the annual competition becomes the least of their worries.
Praised by the Pulitzer board as a “deeply felt consideration of Black masculinity and how it is perceived filtered through the experiences of a loving gay couple and their extended family,” The Hot Wing King provides a glimpse into deeply personal family struggles that mirror real life.
“I’m so proud to be directing The Hot Wing King at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre,” said playwright and director Katori Hall. “This is the Southeast premiere, and I’m over the moon to be working with such an amazing group of artists and collaborators.”
The cast features Nicco Annan (TV: P-Valley, Off-Broadway: The Hot Wing King), who will reprise the role of Big Charles which he originated Off-Broadway, Bjorn Dupaty (Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man) as Cordell, Myles Alexander Evans (Netflix: Teenage Bounty Hunters) as EJ, Armand Fields (TV: The Chi and Queer as Folk) as Isom, Jay Jones (TV: Lovecraft Country, Horizon Theater: Pipeline) as TJ, and Calvin Thompson (Off-Broadway: Couriers and Contrabands, Regional Theatre: The Bluest Eye) as Dwayne. Understudies for the production include Jontavious Johnson, VonDerrick Taylor, Barry Westmoreland, and Markell Williams.
The creative team for The Hot Wing King includes award-winning Director and Playwright Katori Hall, Tony-nominated Costume Designer Dede Ayite (Slave Play), Tony-nominated Set Designer Michael Carnahan (Skeleton Crew), Sound Designer Connor Wang, and Lighting Designer Mike Wood.
Additional production support is provided by Line Producer Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Assistant Line Producer Assata Amankeechi, Intimacy/Fight director Rocio Medez, Stage Manager Shaina Pierce, Assistant Stage Managers Liz Campbell, Barbara Gantt O’Haley and Kacie Pimentel, Stage Management Production Assistant Samantha Honeycutt and COVID Coordinator Haylee Scott.
“This play is a love letter to my brother and his partner, inspired by their commitment and love,” said Hall. “It’s a story of Black joy and Black love and the risks and rewards of being your true self, and I’m so ready to share it with Atlanta audiences.”
Find more information about The Hot Wing King here.
