Taraji P. Henson is confident she and Cedric the Entertainer will find ways to elevate the darkness that comes with the subject matter of their upcoming project.
The actress, 53, and the comedian, 61, are set to star in a new production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, which will open in New York City at a to-be-determined Shubert theatre in spring 2026.
Set in 1911, the play tells the story of a man who deals with the trauma of enslavement after years in captivity, and how he questions his identity, grapples with history and has a spiritual reckoning.
Despite the seriousness of the roles and the story itself, Henson told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at Megan Thee Stallion’s inaugural Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in New York City that she and Cedric are “gonna find some funny bits in there. I’m excited about that.”
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Taraji P. Henson at the Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in New York City on July 16.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is the second play in August Wilson’s acclaimed American Century Cycle, “a ten-part series of plays that showcase the African-American experience set in every decade of the 20th century,” according to the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
It was first staged on Broadway in 1988 in a production starring L. Scott Caldwell, Mel Winkler and Angela Bassett. In the latest adaptation, Henson will play Bertha Holly, the matriarch of a Pittsburgh boarding house, opposite Cedric as her husband Seth.
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The revival, directed by Debbie Allen, marks the latest return to Wilson’s legendary work for producer Brian Anthony Moreland, whose recent productions have included The Piano Lesson (starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington) and Othello (with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal).
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone marks a theatrical homecoming for Cedric, who previously appeared on Broadway in American Buffalo in 2008. Henson, meanwhile, will make her Broadway debut. (The Empire alum previously served as a producer on the Tony Award-nominated Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.)
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Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer.
Henson and Cedric are no strangers to working together. They first appeared opposite one another in a professional capacity in 2007’s Talk to Me.
The pair then reunited again years later in 2011’s Larry Crowne, and once more in 2013 for Madly Madagascar.
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“He’s absolutely perfect for this role,” Henson told PEOPLE of Cedric scoring the part of Seth in the dramatic play. “The casting couldn’t be any better.”
Additional casting for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone — as well as ticket information, an official theater and the show’s production dates — will be announced at a later time.
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