Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun) directed the Huntington-Arena Stage co-production of the play about an African-American family's summer on Martha's Vineyard. Stick Fly will begin Broadway previews Nov. 18 at the Lyceum Theatre toward a Dec. 8 opening. The New York Times first reported the news.
The production marks Diamond's Broadway debut as a playwright. It will also be the Broadway producing debut for Grammy Award-winning pop singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, who will present the production along with Reuben Cannon and Nelle Nugent.
"This is a story that everybody can relate to," Keys said in a statement. "I'm passionate about this play because it is so beautifully written and portrays Black America in a way that we don't often get to see in entertainment. I know it will touch all audiences, who will find a piece of themselves somewhere inside this house."
Stick Fly, according to producers, "follows the LeVays, an affluent African American family who come together to spend a summer weekend at their Martha’s Vineyard home. The adult sons, aspiring novelist Kent and golden boy plastic surgeon Flip, have each brought their respective ladies (one Black and one White) to meet the parents. Food, drink and Trivial Pursuit tangle with class, race and identity politics in this contemporary comedy of manners."
Stick Fly premiered at Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago in 2006. In 2008 it was performed at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Stick Fly is the recipient of the 2006 Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best New Play. Diamond's works also include Voyeurs de Venus, The Bluest Eye, The Gift Horse, Stage Black and Harriet Jacobs. She is a faculty member of Boston University and has had her works produced at Arena Stage, The New Victory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, McCarter Theatre, Playmakers Rep, Chicago Dramatists, Congo Square, MPAACT, True Colors Theatre Company, L.A. Theatre Works and Company One.
Tickets are now on sale at StickFlyBroadway.com.
