Two of Hollywood’s most interesting stars are teaming up for a stage revival 20 years in the making.
According to Variety, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Corey Hawkins will star in a Broadway revival of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog. To mark the Pulitzer Prize-winning play’s 20th anniversary, the duo are signed for a limited 16-week-engagement. Kenny Leon (A Soldier’s Story) will direct the production, which begins previews on Sept. 27 and opens on Oct. 20.
Topdog/Underdog “tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln (Hawkins) and Booth (Abdul-Mateen II), names given to them as a joke by their father. Haunted by the past and their obsession with the street con game, three-card Monte, the brothers come to learn the true nature of their history.”
“I’m so blessed that Topdog is back on Broadway! What a beautiful opportunity to share this work with new audiences. And, wow, how many writers get to be here for a Broadway revival of their work? I’m grateful and thrilled,” Parks said. “And doing the show with Kenny, Yahya and Corey — that’s icing on the gravy, baby!”
Hawkins and Abdul-Mateen II will have big shoes to fill, as the play previously starred Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright Off-Broadway, then Wright was joined by Mos Def for the Broadway run.
Hawkins is coming off of a critically acclaimed performance opposite Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Up next, he’ll be seen in the Dracula horror film The Last Voyage of the Demeter and as Harpo in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple.
Yahya is set to return to the DC film universe, as he once again torments Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry in the sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. And in case you missed them in theaters earlier this year, you can catch him in The Matrix Resurrections on HBO Max and Ambulance on Peacock.