View source for Ain't No Mo'

{{Short description|2019 play by Jordan E. Cooper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox play
| name             = Ain't No Mo'
| image            = Aint No Mo Playbill cover.jpg
| caption          = ''[[Playbill]]'' cover featuring ''Ain't No Mo'''
| writer           = [[Jordan E. Cooper]]
| date of premiere = March 27, 2019
| place            = [[The Public Theater]], New York City
| orig_lang        = English
}}
'''''Ain't No Mo{{`}}''''' is a [[Play (theatre)|play]] consisting of a series of [[sketch comedy]]-style vignettes written by [[Jordan E. Cooper]]. The premise of the play is set in an alternate present where the United States government has put forward a program to buy every Black person in America, who wishes, a one-way ticket to Africa. The vignettes portray how this program affects various characters and the people around them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=July 11, 2022 |title=Lee Daniels To Present Jordan E. Cooper's 'Ain't No Mo' On Broadway This Fall |language=en-US |url=https://deadline.com/2022/07/aint-no-mo-broadway-lee-daniels-jordan-e-cooper-1235061323/ |access-date=October 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name="marloff">{{Cite news |last=Marloff |first=Sarah |date=September 27, 2022 |title=Ain't No Mo' Asks and Answers: Post-Racial? Not Really. – WCP |language=en-US |url=http://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/573216/aint-no-mo-asks-and-answers-post-racial-not-really/ |access-date=October 23, 2022}}</ref>
The show is notable for it making Cooper the youngest Black American to make his Broadway playwriting debut, at age 27,<ref name="tran">{{Cite news |last=Tran |first=Diep |date=October 17, 2022 |title=See the work of these Black theatre artists in New York this fall |language=en |url=https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/see-the-work-of-these-black-theatre-artists-in-new-york-this-fall |access-date=October 23, 2022}}</ref> and the youngest Black American playwright nominated for a [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-2023-tony-awards-by-the-numbers|title=The 2023 Tony Awards by the numbers|first=Sarah|last=Rebell|date=June 5, 2023|website=New York Theatre Guide}}</ref>
== Plot ==
On November 4, 2008, Pastor Freeman performs a funeral service for "Righttocomplain", claiming that with the [[2008 United States presidential election|election]] of [[Barack Obama]], the African-American community will no longer face hardships. However, the congregation's joyous celebration is undercut by the years that follow as they witness events such as the [[Flint water crisis]] and [[List of unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers in the United States|the deaths of unarmed Black Americans at the hands of police]].
The rest of the play consists of vignettes showing the lives of black people in different settings, and how news of the flight affects them. In the first vignette, a black couple Damien and Trisha wait for her number to be called at an abortion clinic; Damien is actually a ghost after being killed in an act of [[police brutality]], and Trisha sees the abortion as the only way to keep their child safe from both death and the spectacle of being a symbol of police brutality. The second vignette depicts the filming of ''The Real Baby Mamas of the South-Side'', a reality show focused on stereotypical black women; brief moments where the camera stops rolling reveal the artificial nature of the show, as well as tensions among the cast due to the presence of "Rachonda" ([[Rachel Dolezal|Rachel]]), a self-proclaimed "[[Transracial (identity)|transracial]]" black woman who is the only one who keeps up the stereotype when the camera are not rolling. In the third segment, a rich black family ignore the notice about the last flight, only to be confronted by the arrival of Black, the human personification of their family's "blackness", locked away in the basement by the family's deceased patriarch forty years prior when he became rich. In the last vignette, three inmates at a women's prison, along with one of the officers, prepare to be released so that they may board the planes while dealing with their complex feelings of what their new "freedom" entails.
In the final scene, Peaches finishes getting all the passengers on the plane, but just as she is ready to board herself, she discovers she is unable to move Miss Bag. She tries to get it to move, protesting that leaving it behind means leaving behind all of African-American culture and history. Due to her efforts, the last plane leaves without her. Realizing that Miss Bag has disappeared, Peaches angrily protests to The Powers That Be to "give it back" as her drag is violently removed until she is left as a man. Before he is subjected to extreme racial transmogrification, he makes one last attempt to rally black solidarity to get back Miss Bag and thus reclaim African-American identity, but is met with silence—for there are no more Black people left.
== Productions ==
=== Off-Broadway (2019) ===
The show debuted [[Off-Broadway]] on March 27, 2019, at the [[Public Theatre]].
=== Broadway (2022) ===
Broadway performances began previews November 9, 2022 ahead of a December 1 opening,<ref name="hornik">{{Cite news |last=Hornik |first=Caitlin |date=2022-10-24 |title=Broadway's 'Ain't No Mo' ' announces new preview dates |language=en-US |url=https://broadwaynews.com/2022/10/24/broadways-aint-no-mo-announces-new-preview-dates/ |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref> at the [[Belasco Theatre]] starring Cooper, [[Marchánt Davis]], Fedna Jacquet, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ebony Marshall-Oliver and Shannon Matesky.<ref name="evans">{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=October 6, 2022 |title=Complete Broadway Cast Announced For Lee Daniels-Produced 'Ain't No Mo{{'}}' |language=en-US |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/lee-daniels-aint-no-mo-broadway-cast-1235136559/ |access-date=October 23, 2022}}</ref> The production was directed by Stevie Walker-Webb and featured sets by [[Scott Pask]], lighting by Adam Honoré, costumes by [[Emilio Sosa]], sound by [[Jonathan Deans]] and Taylor J. Williams, and hair/makeup/wigs by [[Mia Neal|Mia M. Neal]] and Kirk Cambridge Del-Pesche.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ain't No Mo' – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/aint-no-mo-535033#ProductionStaff |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> The production closed on December 23, running a total of 28 performances.<ref name="paulson">{{Cite news |last=Paulson |first=Michael |date=2022-12-10 |title=Ain't No Mo' to Close on Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/theater/aint-no-mo-broadway-closing.html |access-date=2022-12-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="evans2">{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=2022-12-16 |title='Ain't No Mo' Extends Broadway Run By A Week |language=en-US |url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/aint-no-mo-extends-broadway-run-extension-1235200789/ |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref>
=== Other productions ===
There were also productions in Washington D.C. at [[Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company]] and at [[Baltimore Center Stage]] in October 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Putnam |first=Leah |date=September 28, 2022 |title=Regional Premiere of Ain't No Mo' Set For Baltimore Center Stage This Fall |work=Playbill}}</ref>
== Cast and characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Character
!Off-Broadway
!Broadway
|-
!<small>2019</small>
!<small>2022</small>
|-
!Peaches
| colspan="2" align="center" |[[Jordan E. Cooper]]
|-
!Passenger No. 2
| colspan="2" align="center" |[[Marchánt Davis]]
|-
!Passenger No. 1
| colspan="2" align="center" |Fedna Jacquet
|-
!Passenger No. 5
| colspan="2" align="center" |[[Crystal Lucas-Perry]]
|-
!Passenger No. 4
| colspan="2" align="center" |Ebony Marshall-Oliver
|-
!Passenger No. 3
| align="center" |Simone Recasner
| align="center" |Shannon Matesky
|}
== Awards and nominations ==
=== 2022 Broadway production ===
{| class="wikitable" width="95%"
|-
! width="5%" | Year
! width="20%" | Award
! width="45%" | Category
! width="24%" | Nominee
! width="10%" | Result
|-
| rowspan="7" |2023
|[[Drama League Award]]s
|Distinguished Performance
| rowspan="3" |[[Jordan E. Cooper]]
|{{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan="6" |[[Tony Awards]]
|[[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play|Best Featured Actor in a Play]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]]
|[[Crystal Lucas-Perry]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Play|Best Costume Design of a Play]]
|[[Emilio Sosa]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Play|Best Sound Design of a Play]]
|[[Jonathan Deans]] and Taylor Williams
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Direction of a Play]]
|Stevie Walker-Webb
|{{nom}}
|}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{official website|https://aintnomobway.com/}}
[[Category:2019 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Off-Broadway plays]]