Full cast announced for Suzan-Lori Parks' SALLY & TOM at the Public Theater

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/18/24 at 3:16pm

Kristolyn Lloyd, Leland Fowler & Alano Miller, among others

Nice to see several members of the Guthrie cast reprising their roles in New York.  A little bummed Kristin Ariza and Luke Robertson aren't in the leads, though.  Alano Miller as Kwame is a total home run - loved him in the TV series Underground.

Updated On: 1/18/24 at 03:16 PM

[chrisderr]

Posted: 1/19/24 at 4:11am

KevinKlawitter said: "Kristolyn Lloyd, Leland Fowler & Alano Miller blossom word game, among others

Nice to see several members of the Guthrie cast reprising their roles in New York. A little bummed Kristin Ariza and Luke Robertson aren't in the leads, though. Alano Miller as Kwame is a total home run - loved him in the TV seriesUnderground."

 

Great cast. When does the play premiere at the Public Theater?

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/19/24 at 6:54am

Performances begin March 28 ahead of an April 16 opening that runs until April 28

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:45am

Reviews just came out, but has anyone seen this?

[bekk99]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 1:53pm

Saw the first preview and really enjoyed it! Haven't read any reviews, but I assume there was some tightening since then.

[Miss10036]

Posted: 4/19/24 at 11:40pm

I went last night and I liked it, but it didn’t rock my world. There's some great material in here, but the play could be tighter and more searing. It has strong moments but overall feels too padded to truly click.

The pacing in act one takes a while to get going and there’s a lot of worldbuliding and plot setup that could be streamlined. I was liking it but wasn’t fully on board for a good chunk of the first act, since the setup feels like setup. Then it starts to gel toward the end of act one and kicks into a higher gear in act two, which I enjoyed much more. The play’s at its most compelling when it grapples with larger questions about race, art, and agency and when it focuses on Luce (the writer/star), Kwame/James Hemings (a major plot point is Luce debating whether to cut his monologue), and Sally & Tom. It shines during its monologues. Less interesting are the scenes where the show focuses on the backstage maneuvering to get the show-within-a-show to opening night. Subplots with the other company members are underbaked. There’s also some fuzziness, like with how good Luce's play is supposed to be. Some of the material is clearly intended to be clunky, but then you’ll get a riveting monologue. I'm not sure whether it matters if the play's good or not, but that aspect felt undefined. The meta-theatrical aspects could've been sharper.

Sheria Irving is wonderful and grounded, anchoring the show as Luce/Sally Hemings, and does excellent work with her monologue. The cast is uniformly terrific, though I’ve got to give a special mention to Sun Mee Chomet who makes the most of her time as the stage manager/an actor and is quite funny.

My TodayTix rush seat was in the fourth row, eye level with the actors and perfect view. For anyone who's interested in catching this, the show just extended through May 26, so plenty more opportunities to catch it downtown: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Suzan-Lori-Parks-SALLY-TOM-Announces-Third-Extension-At-The-Public-Theater-20240418