Next for CBT at the Jenny Boyd Theatre – ‘The Royale’ by Marco Ramirez

Next up at CBT’s Jenny Boyd Theatre—The Royale is Marco Ramirez’ fictionalized story inspired by the legendary real-life black prizefighter and first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson. If this sounds vaguely familiar, elements of Johnson’s life were previously explored in a Howard Sackler 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning play and subsequent film starring James Earl Jones, The Great White Hope. 

Ramirez’ character is “Jay Jackson” and the play’s timeline falls around 1905 – 1910, a time aligning with Johnson’s defense of his heavyweight title against former champion James J. Jeffries in what newspapers called the “Fight of the Century.” 

In his program notes, director Tosin Morohunfola offers that “…the story wrestles with the price of greatness—one’s responsibility to self versus one’s responsibility to community—an impossible moral dilemma of family versus future. It tackles the culture of celebrity and how: to be Black and well-known is to carry a pressure that you represent the entire race.”

Jay – Denzel Dejournette
Wynton – Kerwin Thompson
Nina – Anquanizia Hall
Fish – Keith Allen Davis, Jr.
Max – Jeb Burris
Ensemble – G.G. Grigsby, McKinley Merritt, Anna Swart, Thomas Nash Tetterton
Percussionist – Corey Hodge

Director and Fight Choreographer – Tosin Morohunfola
Associate Director and Dramaturg – Andrew Drake
Scenic Designer – Alondra Castro
Costume Designer – Tori Niemiec
Lighting Designer – Maranda DeBusk
Sound Designer – Willow James
Stage Manager – Nia Sciarretta