It’s no secret that Broadway has a host of accessibility and diversity issues. And while initiatives are being rolled out to combat that (discounted tickets for younger audiences, casting well-known celebrities in major roles, and putting on shows that tell diverse stories), it feels like progress is moving at a snail’s pace — one Broadway is struggling to keep up with. There are some bright spots in the form of trailblazers worth celebrating, individuals working behind the scenes to break down barriers and feature more diverse voices. One of those voices is Brian Anthony Moreland — the only Black lead producer on Broadway.
His latest project, a revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer, directed by the imitable Debbie Allen, began previews on Monday, with plans to open on April 25. His most recent production of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, was one of only five shows that opened in the 2024-2025 season to fully recoup their initial investment. Moreland’s other producing achievements include the most recent revival of The Wiz, helmed by Wayne Brady and Deborah Cox, and The Piano Lesson revival starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Brooks.
Brian Anthony Moreland outside the Barrymore Theatre, home to the Broadway revival of OthelloEmilio Madrid
Now, the two-time nominee is back on Broadway with yet another cerebral production in the form of a second revival of August Wilson’s seminal work. The last time the show was staged on Broadway, the world was in the midst of Barack Obama’s first term, reveling in the historic progress that was made in electing America’s first Black president. But now, America is in the midst of a second Trump administration that is proving to cause irreparable harm to the U.S. and countries abroad.
In speaking with Moreland, he poignantly stated that the “secret sauce” of a good revival is finding a story that is still relevant today. “I find myself looking at revivals through that lens, ‘What does it say to us today, and how many of us can relate to it?’” Moreland tells Out. “This new one, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, is about a man who's been wrongly enslaved coming back to repair his family. It speaks to us today. Look at how many queer families are torn apart just because of who people are, not because somebody has done something other than have the audacity to breathe.”
He continued, “These are their universal stories, and I think the revivals — when they're done well and brought at the right time, paired with the right talent, they speak to us now as if they were written today.”
Moreland’s latest show was sort of the natural progression after his two most recent productions — The Piano Lesson and Othello. He said that after casting John David Washington in the former (which was turned into a film in 2024), Denzel approached him, saying he would be returning to Broadway and asked Moreland to be the lead producer on his next stage production, which is how he landed the latter. The plan for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is to give it the Denzel film treatment, following the stage production, a project Moreland will also be producing, and he did not hesitate to accept. “August Wilson has this play, which is a part of the American Century cycle, and it is his most epic play. It’s his most dramatic. It’s his most balanced. I think it speaks mostly to family and togetherness, showing our need to heal in order to grow.”
Moreland tells Out that Debbie Allen is slated to direct the movie, so he felt it was only right that she direct the stage production as well. The two are also working on an upcoming stage adaptation of the 1989 movie musical Polly. Allen directed the movie, which starred The Cosby Show’s Keisha Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, T.K. Carter, and Vanessa Bell Calloway.
Brian Anthony MorelandEmilio Madrid
Being the only Black lead producer on Broadway, Moreland is no stranger to feeling the weight of his identity on his shoulders. The weight, he says, is threefold: It’s being Black, it’s being a man, and being gay. “When I’m working on things, I feel there’s always a conversation of ‘Oh, you like that story because you’re Black,’ No, I like the story because it's a good story. ‘Oh, you only want to do that story because it's a gay story.’ No, I want to do that story because it's a story that needs to be told.” He goes on to say, “I think the same thing about being Black is the same thing about being gay is that these are just givens. These are givens of who I am, but they’re not roadblocks in my own mind for who I am.”
Moreland is excited for audiences to come and see his latest production at the Barrymore Theatre because it feels like a conversation-starter for what we are lacking as a country right now: love. “Love the person, love your family in the way they can receive it,” he says is the message of the show, encouraging people to go “on a love journey” with your family members, which “might take you together down the road, or it also might separate you down the road, but it doesn't mean there isn't love when it's all said and done.”
To learn more about Brian Anthony Moreland’s latest production, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, visit joeturnerbway.com.
