Nwandu has rewritten the play extensively for the Broadway production, which is longer, and broader in tone, with a completely altered ending.Īll this heavy significance seems to me to pose as much a burden as a boost to “Pass Over.” If, as a result, some will be impressed enough to overlook the play’s flaws, others (who are used to more standard Broadway fare) might be scared away, overlooking its virtues.
It is the first play to debut on Broadway years after it was first streamed online Spike Lee’s 2018 film of the Steppenwolf production is still available on Amazon Prime. It is the first of an unprecedented seven plays written by Black playwrights that are scheduled to debut on Broadway this season. It is the first on Broadway to address the police killing of African Americans in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Antoinette Nwandu’s play is the first to open on Broadway after almost 18 months of pandemic-induced lockdown the audience at the August Wilson Theater made the loudest and most raucous cheer I’ve ever heard in response to a pre-show announcement - not at all muffled by the face masks we were all required to wear.
