Twelve Characters, Todrick Hall Opens Midnight on East 15th Street
After two sold-out London runs and a delayed start, Hall's musical about the 19th-century South opens Thursday at the Daryl Roth Theatre
Todrick Hall had a problem that most Off-Broadway producers would envy and none would choose. His show was too big for the calendar.
Hall wrote, directed and choreographed the musical Midnight, and he stars in it. In September he scrapped the first week of previews. Playbill reported that he cited "so many unforeseen circumstances" and pointed to the production itself. "It's a massive set. There are 140 costumes," he said. Keeping the original schedule, Playbill added, would have meant asking audiences to sign waivers.
The delay is over. Previews began on September 25 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 East 15th Street, and opening night is Thursday, October 15.
Twelve Lives, One House
The premise, as Playbill lays it out, follows six Black characters and six white characters in the 19th-century American South. Their lives are intertwined. Their relationships set them against the worlds they inherited and the assumptions they carry.
The production page frames it as a single question. What if the life you inherited had belonged to someone else? The show uses that idea for a story about empathy, identity, love and redemption.
The score ranges widely. Playbill lists gospel, pop, R&B, rock, folk, opera and contemporary musical theater among its sources.
Hall plays Rail. Jeremy Beloate is Richard and Jimmy Brewer is Harry. Kennedy Caughell plays Scarlet, Dwayne Clark is Horace and Sidney DuPont is Squeak. Ayana George plays Ethel, Autumn Hurlbert is Charlotte and Kolbi Jordan is Happy. Bella Coppola, Ciaran McCarthy and Charlotte Odusanya round out the principals as Violet, Sylvester and Lily Rose.
From London to East 15th
The show arrives in New York after two sold-out runs in London, according to Playbill. When the Off-Broadway run was announced in June, Hall said he had been "frustrated by the state of the world" when he began writing, and that the story "felt as timeless as it was timely."
That is a large promise for a musical set in the 1800s. Reviews are expected after Thursday's opening.
What if the life you inherited had belonged to someone else?
The creative team behind Hall is long. Playbill credits Laurence Stannard with music supervision, arrangements and music direction, Morgan Large with scenic design, Beck Jones with costumes, Jake DeGroot with lighting and Lawrence Schober with sound. The producers are Midnight 1200 LLC and Caryn Sterling, with Hall as lead producer.
A Night That Kept Moving
The dates have shifted more than once. The June announcement set the first preview for September 12, opening night for September 27 and a close on November 1. By September the start had moved to September 17 and the close to November 8. Then Hall cancelled that first week, which Broadway.com tied to permitting delays. That moved the first preview to September 25 and opening night to October 15. The gala celebration kept its September 27 date.
Midnight is not a short sit. Playbill lists a running time of two hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.
What to Know Before You Go
Midnight plays the Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 East 15th Street, through November 8. The show's calendar lists opening night at 7:30 p.m. and marks most of the remaining dates sold out, so check it before you plan a night around the show. Tickets are sold through Telecharge. The site does not list prices.
For a much smaller room this month, see Wall of Water, Andrew Scott alone on a stage on West 43rd.
Hall built a show big enough to delay his own opening. Thursday, the doors finally open.
