Roundabout Theatre commissions a brand-new play, …WHAT THE END WILL BE, welcoming back playwright Mansa Ra following his triumphant 2017 Underground debut. In this new work, follow three generations of Black gay men all living under one roof, and grappling with their own truths of what it means to be Black and gay, as they share their own perspectives on what their identity means as defined by how they were raised. The show is an exploration of pride, pain, and patience through the unflinching eyes of fathers and sons. It asks a potent question: how can we rebuild our families in the face of tragedy? As an estranged father trying to reconcile with his son in the face of Covid and cancer.
…WHAT THE END WILL BE is directed by Margot Bordelon, who is also directing the premiere of The Brightest Thing in the World by Leah Nanako Winkler, with a star studded cast including POSE star Ryan Jamaal Swain as Antoine, Emerson Brooks, known for his role on the hit TNT drama “The Last Ship” and Netflix’s “Uncoupled”, as Maxwell Kennedy, Gerald Caesar, from Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, as Tony Kennedy, Randy Harrison, from the off-Broadway production of Atomic A New Musical here at Roundabout as Charles, Keith Randolph Smith, last seen in 2017s Jitney at the Manhattan Theatre Club Broadway Production, as Bartholomew Kennedy, and Tiffany Villarin, off of the Vineyard Theatre New York Premiere of Do You Feel Anger?, as Chloe. A creative team consisting of set designer Reid Thompson, costume designer Emilio Sosa, lighting designer Jiyoun Chang, and sound designer Palmer Hefferan.
Mansa Ra made his debut as a playwright with TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET in 2017. The New York Times named him a “Marquee Name, now in the making,” while New Yorker praised him as, “a gifted writer who will be amazing to watch as his work grows.” Mansa went on to write two more plays THE DANCING GRANNY and SHUTTER SISTERS, winning him numerous awards including the Laurents Hatcher Foundation Award, the Alliance Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers’ 2017 Bryan Foundation Award for Drama. After the pandemic, he returned with IN THE SOUTHERN BREEZE, which pulls from the author’s own suicide letter to give encouragement to other Black gay men. TheaterMania named it one of their “6 Favorite Theater Productions of 2021” while The New York Times praised it as “formally ambitious” and a “tender tribute to previous generations of Black Americans.” Mansa Ra has also written three episodes of NBC’s hit drama series, New Amsterdam.