Chuck Smith directs a cast that includes Karen Aldridge (Goodman's The Cook; Proof); Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun); Tory O. Davis (Goodman's Magnolia); John Hoogenakker (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Shakespeare's Othello); Billy Eugene Jones (Broadway's Passing Strange; Radio Golf); Nambi Kelley (Goodman's Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Victory Gardens' The Lost Boys of Sudan); Demetrios Troy (Northlight's Awake and Sing; Chicago Shakespeare's Richard III); Dan Waller (Goodman's Ghostwritten; Talking Pictures) and Mick Weber (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll). Performances on Goodman's Albert stage in Chicago play to June 6. Opening night is May 10.
The Good Negro, a Chicago premiere, "is a gripping new play that rips through the pages of history to uncover the human story at the heart of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement," according to Goodman. "Tensions build in the increasingly hostile South as a trio of emerging black leaders attempts to conquer their individual demons amid death threats from the Ku Klux Klan and wire taps by the FBI. Through personal and intimate stories inspired by the political upheavals of the era, The Good Negro examines the human frailties behind the historic headlines."
The Good Negro was produced at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) and Dallas Theater Center. Wilson's plays include The Story, Order My Steps, Exhibit #9 and Leader of the People.
The creative team includes set designer Riccardo Hernandez, projection designer Mike Tutaj, costume designer Birgit Rattenborg Wise, lighting designer Robert Christen, sound designers Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath.
For more information, visit GoodmanTheatre.org.