Blumenthal Arts plans post-Charlotte moves for Phylicia Rashad’s hit play
For six weeks this summer, the play “Immediate Family” that was directed by beloved actress Phylicia Rashad occupied Blumenthal Arts’ Booth Playhouse in Founder’s Hall.
While Blumenthal Arts typically brings in touring Broadway shows, and occasionally invests in them, this was the rare case where the Charlotte arts group was the sole producer of a production.
The comedy about family drama was written by playwright/actor/singer Paul Oakley Stovall, who considers Charlotte his second artistic home next to Chicago. The play centers on siblings in a Black family in Chicago who reunite for a wedding, and the chaos that unfolds.
It did so well in Charlotte that a few days after performances began in late July, Blumenthal Arts announced the show was extending a week and would run through Sept. 7.
“In every way, (the show) really exceeded our expectations, particularly in the way it really connected with the community in a very authentic way,” Blumenthal Arts President and CEO Tom Gabbard told The Charlotte Observer recently. “And it wasn’t just a performance here or there. It was night after night.”
One of the siblings, Jesse, is gay, but his family doesn’t know that yet. His boyfriend is the white wedding photographer from Sweden who recently proposed to Jesse. Other contemporary themes that emerge over a long weekend under the same roof involve infidelity, religion and sibling rivalry.
“One of the things that I love about this play and these characters was how real they are, that people could identify with this family, they can identify with the individual characters,” Gabbard said.
That type of feedback was clear night after night in the intimate Booth, which seats a little over 400 and received some welcome exposure during the run of the show.
“Immediate Family” drew audiences who are regular theater-goers as well as those coming in for the first time. Gabbard called it “a real win” when a show can attract people who don’t normally come to the theater.
Ticket sales were “very good,” Gabbard said. And even though “Immediate Family” ran for more than a month, because of the size of the theater, that was the equivalent of a touring Broadway show’s week-and-a-half stint at the much bigger Belk Theater.
The budget for the show was about $1 million, Gabbard said. The production ended up losing a little money, according to Gabbard, but that was in line with expectations.
“We wanted to make sure that we did everything and anything that particularly Phylicia and Paul believed was necessary to mount this level that they were aiming at.
“There’s no question that we were ready to invest significantly on this to make sure the quality was there. Rehearsing the show in New York and bringing everybody here was not an inexpensive thing.” That quality work also involved having the sets all built in North Carolina — and in such a way that they could easily be transferred to another venue.
So where could “Immediate Family” go next?
That brings us to our next question: what’s next for “Immediate Family”?
Gabbard said that’s really a two-part question dealing with the artistic side and the business side.
On the artistic side, not many changes are expected although Stovall might tinker a little with some words or inflections based on the reaction and feedback he got during its Charlotte run.
Gabbard said the Blumenthal already has received inquiries from a number of other arts groups around the country about the show.
“We didn’t go into this with specific cities in mind, whether it was New York or someplace else,” he said. “We wanted to get this show on its feet, let people look at it and make a judgment call.”
There was a lot of positive feedback, including from New York theater industry types who came to Charlotte to see “Immediate Family.” That included director Michael Arden, who won Tonys for directing “Parade” and “Maybe Happy Ending.” His husband was in the cast — (Andy Mientus, who played the Swedish photographer.
Having good visibility with the industry should help “Immediate Family” find its next home, most likely in a regional theater first. “So it’s a matter of finding a slot, but we have several cities that are very, very eager to bring it there.”
That could happen anywhere between about 10 months to three or four years, Gabbard said, as arts groups often plan out their schedules a year or two in advance. Teaming up with another arts group on remounting the show also would help the Blumenthal amortize the costs.
What about Broadway?
Ultimately, Broadway remains an option too. There’s definitely interest, Gabbard said, but that would be further down the line.
One reason is that Rashad already had a Tony-winning Best Play on Broadway recently, “Purpose.”
“There needs to be some air between that play and this play,” Gabbard said. “When ‘Immediate Family’ does play New York, it needs to have its own time, and not be in the shadow of another play” that Rashad helmed.
There are lots of different ways a show could land on Broadway. Building up brand awareness and support for “Immediate Family” during its regional life is a good way to accomplish that, Gabbard said. And, he said, Rashad and Stovall will remain integral to the show.
“When it does get there (to New York), it deserves to have its moment,” Gabbard said. “So we think focusing on some other cities (first) is really the better strategy.”
More arts coverage
Want to see more stories like this? Sign up here for our free, award-winning “Inside Charlotte Arts” newsletter: charlotteobserver.com/newsletters. You can join our Facebook group, “Inside Charlotte Arts,” by going here: facebook.com/groups/insidecharlottearts. And all of our 2025-26 Fall Arts Guide story can be found here: charlotteobserver.com/topics/charlotte-fall-arts-guide.
