{"id":450,"date":"2022-07-23T11:08:11","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T15:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/?page_id=450"},"modified":"2022-10-16T20:57:22","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T00:57:22","slug":"tarrell-alvin-mcraney","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/tarrell-alvin-mcraney\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarrell Alvin McRaney"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/tarrell.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/tarrell.png 512w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/tarrell-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/tarrell-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/tarrell-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tarrell Alvin McRaney is a gay African-American playwright best known for <em>Brother\/Sister Play Trilogy<\/em>, <em>Choir Boy, Ms. Blakk for President, Wig Out!, Head of Passes, <\/em>and <em>In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue<\/em>. He has also written for film and television including <em>Moonlight<\/em>, which he co-wrote with Barry Jenkins, and <em>David Makes Man<\/em>, which he created for the Oprah Winfrey Network. His work has been produced and developed by Steppenwolf Theatre, The Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Public Theater, The Royal Court, The Manhattan Theater Club, The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and The Vineyard Theatre. His awards include the 2017 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight, 2017 PEN\/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awards American Playwright in Mid-Career, and 2008 London\u2019s Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. He received his BFA in acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Subsequently, he received his MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, where he currently serves as chair of the playwriting program. He is also a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Career Highlight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of Tarrell\u2019s greatest achievements was co-writing <em>Moonlight<\/em> with director Barry Jenkins. The film was released September 2, 2016. <em>Moonlight <\/em>is a coming-of-age film based on Tarrell\u2019s play, <em>In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue<\/em>. The play is semi-autobiographical and focuses on the childhood, adolescence, and adult life of its main character. The film grossed $65 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Picture as well as Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. <em>Moonlight<\/em> also won Best Picture at the Oscars. The film deals with themes of masculinity, sexuality, and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Choir Boy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Genre:&nbsp;Dramedy<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Breakdown:<ul><li>6M Black, 1M White<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Synopsis:<ul><li><em>Choir Boy<\/em> is about a gay black highschooler named Pharus who sings as the choir lead at his prep school, Drew. Pharus encounters discrimination at Drew because of his sexuality. He isn\u2019t truly accepted by almost anyone at school and is consistently asked by the headmaster to change the way he presents himself in order to fit in. Pharus receives a lot of hate from Bobby in particular, a fellow choir member who calls him the F slur at the beginning of the play. The choir becomes divided because of what Bobby calls Pharus. To reconcile the boys, the headmaster employs Mr. Pendleton as the new choir faculty sponsor and tasks him with bringing the boys together before their graduation commencement. Mr. Pendleton\u2019s success is at first middling. However, he begins to make a little headway when he asks the boys to sing one of their parents\u2019 favorite songs. During this time, another choir member, David, begins to navigate his suppressed feelings for Pharus. Soon, it&#8217;s revealed that the two had secretly been in a relationship. By the end of the play, Pharus and David are caught while being intimate, and so David strikes Pharus out of fear. This causes David to be expelled while Pharus is left at school. In the wake of what happened, Pharus looks to graduation somewhat emotionally scarred and banned from singing a solo in the choir.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Development\/Production History:<ul><li>Royal Court Theatre (2012)<\/li><li>New York City Center (2013)<\/li><li>Alliance Theatre (2014)<\/li><li>Geffen Playhouse (2014)<\/li><li>Broadway (2018)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Weblink to purchase from publisher:<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dramatists.com\/cgi-bin\/db\/single.asp?key=4924#:~:text=Dramatists%20Play%20Service%2C%20Inc\" target=\"_blank\">Dramatist Website<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Photos:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p1.png 512w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p1-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption><em>Choir Boy<\/em>,<em> <\/em>Manhattan Theater, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p2.png 512w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p2-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption><em>Choir Boy<\/em>,<em> <\/em>Marin Theatre Company, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"379\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p3.png 512w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/07\/p3-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption><em>Choir <\/em>Boy, SpeakEasy Stage, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Plays<\/strong><ul><li><em>Brother\/Sister Play Trilogy<\/em> (2007-2010)<\/li><li><em>Wig Out!<\/em> (2008)<\/li><li><em>American Trade<\/em> (2011)<\/li><li><em>Head of Passes<\/em> (2016)<\/li><li><em>In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue<\/em> (2016)<\/li><li><em>Choir Boy<\/em> (2018)<\/li><li><em>Ms. Blakk for President<\/em> (2019)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Bibliography<\/strong><ul><li>\u201c&#8217;Choir Boy&#8217; Melds Music and Message at Geffen.\u201d <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sept. 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/arts\/la-et-cm-choir-boy-review-20140929-column.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/arts\/la-et-cm-choir-boy-review-20140929-column.html<\/a>.<\/li><li>Green, Jesse. \u201cReview: Raising a Joyful New Voice in Tarell Alvin McCraney&#8217;s &#8216;Choir Boy&#8217;.\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, The New York Times, 9 Jan. 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/08\/theater\/choir-boy-review.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/08\/theater\/choir-boy-review.html<\/a>.<\/li><li>Jones, Chris. \u201c&#8217;Choir Boy&#8217; Is Tarell Alvin McCraney&#8217;s Play Set in a Prep School.\u201d <em>Chicagotribune.com<\/em>, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/entertainment\/theater\/ct-ent-choir-boy-review-1005-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/entertainment\/theater\/ct-ent-choir-boy-review-1005-story.html<\/a>.<\/li><li>Martin, Michel. \u201c&#8217;Moonlight&#8217; Writer&#8217;s Broadway Debut Stars a Queer, Black &#8216;Choir Boy&#8217;.\u201d <em>NPR<\/em>, NPR, 5 Mar. 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/05\/700405508\/moonlight-writer-s-broadway-debut-stars-a-queer-black-choir-boy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/05\/700405508\/moonlight-writer-s-broadway-debut-stars-a-queer-black-choir-boy<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Web Resources<\/strong><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZQZOOLQTkY4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bringing <em>Choir Boy <\/em>to Broadway<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/video\/choir-boy-playwright-shares-a-story-full-of-questions-1550880191\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PBS Newshour &#8211; &#8216;Choir Boy&#8217; playwright shares a story &#8216;full of questions&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/130903804\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Choir Boy Trailer<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tarell_Alvin_McCraney%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.steppenwolf.org\/ensemble\/member-pages\/tarell-alvin-mccraney\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.steppenwolf.org\/ensemble\/member-pages\/tarell-alvin-mccraney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steppenwolf Theater Bio<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drama.yale.edu\/bios\/tarell-mccraney-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yale Bio<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reflection on Contribution to Anti-Racist Theatre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Choir Boy<\/em> is a very personal play. Mostly inspired by McRaney\u2019s relationship with his own community in Liberty City Miami. (also the setting of <em>Moonlight<\/em>) McRaney loves his community, but sometimes communities ask us to bend and change. Therefore, the <em>Choir Boy<\/em> extended from the question; \u201cHow do you be yourself in a community that might not fully accept who you are?\u201d The play takes a lot of inspiration from negro spirituals. There are many sections that feature the boys singing acapella in the style of spirituals. The traditions of the black church are also present throughout the play. During the musical sequences the boys will step dance. Additionally, negro spirituals have a lot of similarities with black gospel choirs. In the play, the spirituals serve as intense expressions ranging from joy, to exuberance, to anger, and to pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choir Boy dives straight into the middle of this difficult situation because of Pharus\u2019 intersectionality as a gay, African American male student, and does service to each part of what makes Pharus who he is. The play is not afraid of tackling tough conversations and providing greater representational equity and that\u2019s why it is a great piece of antiracist theater.&nbsp;Pharus isn\u2019t accepted for who he is, and so during his time at Drew it seems he must continually jump through hoops. This is addressed at the very beginning of the play as the headmaster speaks to Pharus. In his office, he grabs Pharus\u2019 by the wrist and tells him, \u201cTighten up! You are lead now\u2026 You gotta tighten up so that people don\u2019t assume too much. Like all men, hold some things in. See your private life\u2026 Well those are private. Don\u2019t let it all out. Keep \u2018em guessing or\u2026 At least so they can\u2019t ask.\u201d The headmaster cares about Pharus and is a great aid to him throughout the play. However, similar to most everyone else in the play, he can\u2019t accept Pharus for who he is. Instead, he warns Pharus that being himself is dangerous and will get him nowhere. The headmaster demands that Pharus present himself as a \u201cman\u201d in order to maintain his position within the school and as the choir lead. Accepting gay people like Pharus is something that academia, the church, and the black community have historically struggled to do. So writing the play in a location where the protagonist is attempting to excel in all three settings results in some really intense scenarios. Such as when David strikes Pharus. Or when Pharus describes a trip to the barber shop he took where he was only nine, and experienced horrible discrimination from his friend and community. We don\u2019t get enough diverse perspectives in plays. <em>Choir Boy<\/em> sets Pharus center stage. That\u2019s what makes it a great piece of anti-racist theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compiled by Josiah Broughton, Department of Film, Television and Theater: Film Concentration, 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biography Tarrell Alvin McRaney is a gay African-American playwright best known for Brother\/Sister Play Trilogy, Choir Boy, Ms. Blakk for President, Wig Out!, Head of Passes, and In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. He has also written for film and television including Moonlight, which he co-wrote with Barry Jenkins, and David Makes Man, which he &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/tarrell-alvin-mcraney\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Tarrell Alvin McRaney&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4149,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-450","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":791,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450\/revisions\/791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}