(New York, NY) – New York City may have the highest concentration of theater lovers per capita, but much of the crowd lining both sides of West 47th Street on Wednesday night was likely drawn to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre for a different reason: celebrity. St. Louis’ own King of Comedy Cedric The Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson — both with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — headline the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, running through July 26.
The initial applause when Cedric and Henson stepped onstage was unmistakably for the stars. But once the performance settled in, the audience responded to the work — laughing, inhaling sharply, and talking back. Not because of fame, but because of the talent that earned it. Their portrayals were so skilled and convincing that many who arrived hoping for an up-close encounter with celebrity quickly forgot they were watching anyone other than Seth and Bertha Holly.
The production marks the stage debut for both actors, yet they appeared fully at home as a couple running a Pittsburgh boarding house during the first wave of the Great Migration. Bertha is introduced as the voice of reason as Seth complains about a new lodger whose youthful behavior he fears may disrupt the home’s reputation. Cedric’s interpretation of Seth verifies his stage name — a performer who has parlayed comedy into film, television, literature, and now a commanding stage presence without relying on punchlines. His chemistry with Henson is natural, and their timing — together and individually — is impeccable. Watching them interact evokes the ease of a long-married couple who understand each other’s strengths and share equal footing.
Wilson’s story centers on the residents of the Holly boarding house in 1911, each carrying histories of migration, separation, and searching. Seth and Bertha offer stability to boarders navigating a country still reshaping itself a generation after Reconstruction. The boarding house becomes a crossroads — a place where people confront what they’ve endured and what they hope to reclaim. The rhythm shifts when Herald Loomis arrives with his daughter, Zonia. Loomis, illegally imprisoned for seven years by Joe Turner, moves through the home with a guarded presence as he searches for his estranged wife and a sense of direction after years stripped of autonomy. His arrival unsettles the household, and Seth is the first to notice the depth of Loomis’ turmoil — a suspicion Cedric interprets with precision.
Bynum Walker, expertly portrayed by Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, serves as the spiritual counterweight to Loomis’ pain. Bynum believes every person has a “song” — a sense of identity and purpose that must be found and claimed. Through him, Wilson threads the idea that liberation is both physical and spiritual. Bynum’s quiet insistence that Loomis must find his song places the boarding house at the center of a larger conversation about memory, loss, and rebuilding oneself.
Cedric’s portrayal leans into his natural comedic timing without oversaturating the role. His Seth is humorous but grounded — a man with a legacy to uphold and a household to protect. And he makes it clear that Bertha stands beside him, not behind him. Henson’s Bertha carries the throughline familiar in her work: women who command agency. Her Bertha is an anchor — a partner with opinions and equal stake in the home they provide for those seeking footing up north.
The chemistry established by Cedric and Henson ripples throughout the cast, including child actors Dominique Skye Turner and Christopher Woodley as Zonia Loomis and Reuben Scott. Debbie Allen’s direction is a masterclass in honoring Wilson’s language, understanding that its rhythm is as essential to Black audiences as the words themselves. She also gets to the heart of the familial camaraderie that extends beyond bloodlines — a constant element of the Black experience — especially in the ebb and flow between Bynum and the Hollys.
The technical elements are as rewarding as the performances. Scenic designer David Gallo was intentional about every audience member’s experience, creating visual elements that draw the eye to the top of the stage — from floating windows to a steep, sturdy staircase that rises toward the curtain’s header.
Paul Tazewell’s costumes are meticulously accurate for the era, and sound designer Justin Ellington offers an early glimpse of the emotions that unfold through his Delta Blues soundtrack.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone affirms that first-hand accounts of Black experience belong in the canon of American theater beyond characters crafted by others that reduce Blackness to the lowest common denominator. And Cedric The Entertainer embodies the grace and strength with which Black men protected the small piece of the American dream they were afforded — and shared it with others seeking their own.
August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone continues through July 26 at The Ethel Barrymore Theatre. For tickets or additional information, visit joeturnerbway.com.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
