ABOUT THIS SHOW
Pharus Young is now a senior at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, an institution committed to building “strong, ethical Black men,” where he endeavors to be the best leader of the school’s prestigious choir in its 50-year history. But in a world built on rites and rituals, should he conform to the expectations of his peers in order to gain the respect he desperately seeks?
Written by Oscar-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight), this Tony-nominated play—threaded throughout with soul-stirring a cappella gospel hymns—is the story of a young gay Black man and his battle between identity and community. Choir Boy is an elegy to quiet rebellion, filled with the sound of longing and aspiration. It is a love song in pianissimo to the unseen heart that beats inside us all.
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Watch & Listen
Content Advisory
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Effect Advisory
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Additional information
Accessible Performances
Open captioned:
Thursday, July 7 at 8pm and Saturday, July 16 at 3pm
ASL interpreted:
Sunday, July 10 at 8pm
Audio-described and touch tour:
Sunday, July 17 at 3pm (1:30pm touch tour, 3pm curtain)
Cast & Artists
The Artists
- Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney
- Director Kent Gash
- Scenic Designer Arnel Sancianco
- Costume Designer Kara Harmon
- Lighting Designer Jason Lynch
- Sound Designer Pornchanok Kanchanabanca
- Musial Director Jermaine Hill
- Choreographer Byron Easley
- Intimacy and Fight Choreographer Greg Geffrard
- Intimacy and Fight Choreographer Courtney Abbott
- Vocal Coach Stan Brown
- Director of Production Tom Pearl
- Casting JC Clementz
- Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn
- Production Stage Manager Michelle Medvin
- Assistant Stage Manager JuJu Laurie
Reviews
★ ★ ★ ★ (out of 4) "Brilliantly cast, excitingly staged and filled with the heart that comes from age.” – Chicago Tribune
“A beautiful homage to adolescence, identity, aspiration, and the human longing to be seen and understood.” – Broadway World
“A 100-minute emotional rollercoaster, every devastating dip and giddy rise delivered through a filter of a cappella music that takes the audience from glory to despair and back.” – Chicago Sun-Times
“The audience response made the performance electric…it provided energy and enthusiasm the fictional characters on stage crave.” – New City
Sponsors
grand Production sponsors
Dennis and Karen Chookaszian
individual production sponsors
Michael Bender and Sheridan Prior
Douglas R. Brown and Rachel Kraft
Andrew Keyt
Kenneth J. Porrello and Sherry L. McFall
Choir Boy is supported by the Richard and Mary L. Gray Production Endowment Fund and the Avy and Marcie Stein Sustaining Fund for the Ensemble.
Accessibility Services sponsored by John Hart and Carol Prins
Welcome to our ensemble
Steppenwolf prides itself on being one of the premiere ensemble theaters in America. Being in an ensemble means being open to perspectives that differ from our own, being willing to allow multiple truths to exist and, perhaps most importantly, being open to change.
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