Wayne Brady Starring in Tina Landau, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s ‘Ms. Blakk For President’ at Vineyard Theatre (EXCLUSIVE)

May 4, 2026 8:00am PT Wayne Brady Starring in Tina Landau, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s ‘Ms. Blakk For President’ at Vineyard Theatre (EXCLUSIVE)

By Brent Lang

Plus Icon

Brent Lang

Executive Editor

BrentALang

Latest

• Wayne Brady Starring in Tina Landau, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s ‘Ms. Blakk For President’ at Vineyard Theatre (EXCLUSIVE) 34 minutes ago
• ‘Tangled’: ‘Andor’ Star Diego Luna Joins Disney Live Action Remake 3 days ago
• Avi Nesher to Direct Adaptation of Best-Seller ‘Sons and Soldiers’ for Jagman Productions (EXCLUSIVE) 3 days ago

See All

Emmy Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Wayne Brady will help kick off Vineyard Theatre’s 2026-2027 season by starring in “Ms. Blakk For President.” The show is described as “part campaign rally, part nightclub performance, part confessional—and all party,” and was co-written by Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Landau also directs.

The official plot description reads: “Introducing Joan Jett Blakk—the first (and only) Black Drag Queen Candidate for President of the United States of America. It’s the early 90s, the height of the AIDS epidemic, and Joan and the newly formed Queer Nation Chicago set off on an exhilarating and dangerous journey to drag queer politics out of the closet—and onto the floor of the DNC. Inspired—but not bound—by the true story of drag performer and activist Terence Alan Smith, ‘Ms. Blakk For President’ is a joyous stampede through urgent and unfinished business.”

Additional cast and creative team will be announced at a later date. Performances will begin on October 15, 2026 with an opening night of November 1, 2026, with the production playing for six weeks. Members will have first access to tickets. Vineyard Theatre memberships for the 2026-27 season are on sale now and public tickets will be on sale at a future date.

Popular on Variety

“We could not be more excited to collaborate again with Tarell Alvin McCraney and Tina Landau, the remarkable artists behind our 2008 show ‘Wig Out!.’ With ‘Ms. Blakk For President,’ Tina and Tarell are conjuring a lesser-known piece of American and LGBTQ+ history, while shining a vivid, urgent light on our own times,” said Sarah Stern, the theater’s artistic dirctor. “This fantastical new work features an electrifying new script following an earlier version at Steppenwolf in 2019 and an intended production at The Vineyard in 2020. We’re especially thrilled to be developing it with the wildly talented Wayne Brady, who will be phenomenal in the role of Terence/Joan. We look forward to transforming The Vineyard’s space once again to create a singular, immersive environment for a show that joyfully defies convention. Ms. Blakk For President is an exuberant, heartfelt, wild ride through our past and present that audiences won ‘t want to miss.”

Brady is best known for his work on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” as well as for hosting “Let’s Make a Deal.” On Broadway, he has appeared in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “The Wiz,” “Chicago,” “Kinky Boots” and “Freestyle Love Supreme.” He recently launched Wayne Brady’s “What If?!” podcast and co-wrote an original short story included in “The End Of The World As We Know It: New Tales Of Stephen King’s The Stand.”

Landau is a writer and director whose recent Broadway musicals include “Floyd Collins” (book, additional lyrics, and direction), “Redwood” starring Idina Menzel (book, co-lyrics, direction) and “The SpongeBob Musical” (conceiver and director). 

McCraney is artistic director of Geffen Playhouse. His script “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” is the basis for the Oscar–winning film “Moonlight,” for which McCraney and Barry Jenkins won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay. McCraney created the Peabody Award–winning OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network drama “David Makes Man,” which was executive produced by Michael B. Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. McCraney also wrote the film “High Flying Bird” which premiered on Netflix and was directed by Steven Soderbergh. McCraney’s plays include “We Are Gathered,” “Head of Passes,” and “Choir Boy,” which was nominated for four Tony Awards.

“Ms. Blakk For President” is the first of three productions of Vineyard’s 2026-27 season. Additional productions will be announced at a later date. Located in New York City’s Union Square, The Vineyard’s shows have included Lucas Hnath’s “Dana H.,” Tina Satter’s “Is This A Room,” Paula Vogel’s “Indecent,” and Nicky Silver’s “The Lyons,” all of which transferred to Broadway.

Jump to Comments

• 

  Netflix Comedy Chiefs on Netflix Is a Joke Fest, Louis C.K. Backlash and the Future of ‘I Think You Should Leave,’ ‘Everybody’s Live’ and More
• 

  Louis C.K. Returns to Netflix With New Special and Headlining Comedy Show at Hollywood Bowl
• 

  Dave Chappelle Re-Teams With Netflix for Three Comedy Shows During Netflix Is a Joke Fest
• 

  Kevin Hart Live Roast Set at Netflix With Host Shane Gillis

JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...