Prospect Musicals' workshop production of The Oscar Micheaux Project, a new jazz musical following the life of the titular filmmaker, played the Baruch Performing Arts Center June 14鈥�21. Check out photos from the recent staging in the gallery below.
Julius Thomas III (Hamilton) starred as Oscar Micheaux, alongside Ryan Jamaal Swain (Pose) as his brother Swan, Maya Sistruck as Evelyn Preer, and Nasia Thomas (The Last Five Years) as Alice B. Russel. They were joined by Grammy nominee Saint Aubyn, Ladonna Burns, Marques Furr, Tymothee Harrell, Alysha Morgan, Anita Welch-Smith, and Curtis Wiley.
Kimille Howard directed with choreography by Chloe Davis.
The musical, exploring Micheaux's career from silent pictures to the talkies as he battles the racism of Hollywood to bring Black stories to the silver screen, features music by Alphonso Horne, lyrics by Jesse L. Kearney Jr. and Peter Mills, a book by Kearney Jr. and Cara Reichel, and additional music by Mills.
Maya Sistruck and Julius Thomas in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Nasia Thomas in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Maya Sistruck in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Ryan Jamaal Swain and Julius Thomas III in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Marques Furr, Tymothee Harrell, and Julius Thomas III in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Nasia Thomas in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Marques Furr, Tymothee Harrell, Alysha Morgan, Julius Thomas III, and company of The Oscar Micheaux Project
Ryan Jamaal Swain in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III, Saint Aubyn, and Ryan Jamaal Swain in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III, Curtis Wiley, and Saint Aubyn in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and LaDonna Burns in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Company of The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Nasia Thomas in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Tymothee Harrell, LaDonna Burns, and Marques Furr in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Nasia Thomas in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Julius Thomas III and Marques Furr in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Nasia Thomas and Julius Thomas III in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Maya Sistruck in The Oscar Micheaux Project
LaDonna Burns and Anita Welch-Smith in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Saint Aubyn, Curtis Wiley, Julius Thomas III, Tymothee Harrell, and Alysha Morgan in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Nasia Thomas and Julius Thomas III in The Oscar Micheaux Project
Company of The Oscar Micheaux Project
The onstage jazz ensemble featured Mike Bond and Andy Roninson on piano, Caylen Bryant on bass, Norman Edwards on drums, Langston Hughes on clarinet, sax, and flute and trumpet player Alphonso Horne leading the band.
The creative team also included projection designer Brittany Bland (The Jellicle Ball), scenic designer Jessica Alexandra Cancino (Pirates!), lighting designer Emmanuel Delgado (Buena Vista Social Club), costume designer Mika Eubanks (Flex), and sound designer Ben Scheff (Prospect鈥檚 Notes From Now). Music direction was by Alphonso Horne and Jonathan Larson Grant recipient Andy Roninson, with music consulting by Mark G. Meadows (The Outsiders).
The Oscar Micheaux Project was recently named the inaugural
winner of the Michael Friedman Award for New Composition, given in honor
of the late composer-lyricist. The musical was initially commissioned
by Prospect Musicals in 2021 with the support of a grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts. It was featured in the 2023 National
Alliance of Musical Theatre Festival of New Musicals, as well as the
2024 Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals, and was a finalist for
the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award and the Eugene O鈥橬eill Theatre Center鈥檚
2025 Musical Theatre Conference.
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