Cast List
Tori Sampson’s If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka Announces Cast
The world premiere of If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a MuhFucka written by Tori Sampson, who is making her New York City professional debut, and directed by Leah C. Gardiner has found its Off-Broadway cast.
Tori Sampson photo by Zack DeZon
The all-Black cast, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, begins performances February 15 and will run for a limited engagement until March 31, 2019, in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons (416 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036)
The cast features:
Rotimi Agbabiaka (Regional: Bootycandy; Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 2, and 3) as Chorus,
Maechi Aharanwa (Off-Broadway: The Winter’s Tale, An Octoroon) as Ma,
Jason Bowen (Broadway: The Play That Goes Wrong. Off-Broadway: My Mañana Comes) as Dad,
Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Regional: Seven Guitars, The Model American) as Massassi,
Ian Duff (Off-Broadway: Dutch Masters) as Kasim,
Nike Uche Kadri (Off-Broadway: School Girls…, The Death of the Last BlackMan ) as Akim,
Mirirai Sithole (Off-Broadway: School Girls…, The Homecoming Queen) as Adama, and
Phumzile Sitole (TV: Orange Is the New Black, Elementary, The Good Fight ) as Kaya.
Sampson says “I wanted to use a folktale in a contemporary way to interrogate why, for instance, Viola Davis isn’t ‘classically beautiful’ and why the country had such a hard time aesthetically with Michelle Obama. The first time I saw her I was awestruck; this was a beautiful black woman whose hair is like mine; her skin is like mine; and to see the attributes of her that I really admired, to see the media tear them down really troubles me. I wanted to examine the impact of colonization on Black beauty, and to ask what is Black beauty, in a way that speaks specifically to Black women.”
The creative team includes Louisa Thompson (Scenic Designer), Dede M. Ayite (Costume Designer), Matt Frey (Lighting Designer), and Ian Scot (Original Music and Sound Designer), Alyssa K. Howard (Production Stage Manager), and Noah Silva (Assistant Stage Manager).
“Black is beauty, Black is me, Black is what I want to be.” A line from a poem that Brittney, my elder sister, wrote in elementary school. My mother was so proud she insisted that all her daughters recite the phrase as we left home and entered the world.
– Tori Sampson from Playwright’s Perspective: If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka
Cast List
Queen Latifah Set to Play Ursula in Live Musical (Not Live-Action) Little Mermaid Broadcast
Queen Latifah has recently announced that she will be playing Ursula in ABC’s live musical version of The Little Mermaid, (not to be confused with the live-action movie remake starring Halle Bailey).
The actress, singer, rapper, mogul & icon will be joined by reggae musician and actor, Shaggy as Sebastian the crab, and the voice of Moana Auli’i Cravalho as Ariel.
Ursula will add to Queen Latifah’s ever-growing collection of musical theatre roles and her 2nd time in a live musical broadcast, after having played The Wiz in NBC’s The Wiz Live.
This live event will air on November 5th on ABC and will be part of the Disney celebrating 30 years since the initial release of The Little Mermaid (1989). It will combine concert-style performances, costumes and set from the 2008 Broadway musical, and footage from the original animated feature.
Director Hamish Hamilton described the set as an immersive “dive in theatre” and will feature a projection surface in the middle. Despite the broadcast being a celebration of the original movie, the broadcast will feature songs from the Broadway musical. specifically for the characters who didn’t have solo songs in the original movie.
No new songs will be added to this production, strengthening its positioning as a celebration and not as an entirely new version of The Little Mermaid.
The Wonderful World of Disney presents The Little Mermaid Live! will air Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. ET, live on ABC.
