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Joe Turner's Come and Gone (w/ Brett Radek)
Joe Turner's Come and Gone is one of August Wilson's most celebrated plays and part of his 10-play American Century Cycle chronicling Black life across the 20th century. First premiering at Yale Repertory Theatre before transferring to Broadway in 1988, the play is set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911 during the Great Migration and follows a community of Black travelers, workers, and dreamers searching for identity, connection, and belonging in the shadow of slavery's aftermath. Widely regarded as one of Wilson's most spiritually rich works, Joe Turner's Come and Gone blends realism, folklore, music, and memory into a meditation on displacement, healing, and the lifelong search for one's "song."
Host Andrew Cole is joined by actor, director, and producer Brett Radek to unpack the current Broadway revival directed by Debbie Allen. The production stars Taraji P. Henson as Bertha Holly, Cedric the Entertainer as Seth Holly, Joshua Boone as Harold Loomis, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Bynum Walker. Together, Andrew and Brett discuss the production's emotional power, the muscular beauty of Wilson's writing, the show's exploration of trauma and self-discovery, and why this revival feels both deeply historical and urgently contemporary.
*****
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro / Welcome Brett Radek
12:33 Setting the Stage
14:53 Hot Takes
40:30 Big Feels
48:02 Should You See It?
51:26 Outro
*****
ABOUT THE SHOW
See Joe Turner on Broadway: https://joeturnerbway.com/
*****
GUEST HOST LOVE
Follow Brett on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brettradek/
Follow Out/Play NYC on IG: https://www.instagram.com/outplaynyc
Support Out/Play NYC: https://linktr.ee/outplaynyc
*****
SUPPORT CRITICAL DARLING
Spotify - Follow, Listen & Watch https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-spotify
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By Andrew ColeJoe Turner's Come and Gone is one of August Wilson's most celebrated plays and part of his 10-play American Century Cycle chronicling Black life across the 20th century. First premiering at Yale Repertory Theatre before transferring to Broadway in 1988, the play is set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911 during the Great Migration and follows a community of Black travelers, workers, and dreamers searching for identity, connection, and belonging in the shadow of slavery's aftermath. Widely regarded as one of Wilson's most spiritually rich works, Joe Turner's Come and Gone blends realism, folklore, music, and memory into a meditation on displacement, healing, and the lifelong search for one's "song."
Host Andrew Cole is joined by actor, director, and producer Brett Radek to unpack the current Broadway revival directed by Debbie Allen. The production stars Taraji P. Henson as Bertha Holly, Cedric the Entertainer as Seth Holly, Joshua Boone as Harold Loomis, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Bynum Walker. Together, Andrew and Brett discuss the production's emotional power, the muscular beauty of Wilson's writing, the show's exploration of trauma and self-discovery, and why this revival feels both deeply historical and urgently contemporary.
*****
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro / Welcome Brett Radek
12:33 Setting the Stage
14:53 Hot Takes
40:30 Big Feels
48:02 Should You See It?
51:26 Outro
*****
ABOUT THE SHOW
See Joe Turner on Broadway: https://joeturnerbway.com/
*****
GUEST HOST LOVE
Follow Brett on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brettradek/
Follow Out/Play NYC on IG: https://www.instagram.com/outplaynyc
Support Out/Play NYC: https://linktr.ee/outplaynyc
*****
SUPPORT CRITICAL DARLING
Spotify - Follow, Listen & Watch https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-spotify
YouTube - Subscribe & Watch https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-youtube
Apple Podcasts - Follow & Listen https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-apple
Instagram - Follow & Connect https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-instagram
Amazon Music - Follow & Listen https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-amazon
TikTok - Follow & Connect https://tinyurl.com/critical-darling-tiktok