Bad Kreyòl Tickets

By: Dominique Morisseau
Director: Tiffany Nichole Greene
Producer: Signature Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
Cast list: Pascale Armand (as Gigi), Fedna Jacquet (as Lovelie), Andy Lucien (as Thomas), Kelly McCreary (as Simone), Jude Tibeau (as Pita)

Dominique Morisseau has been a steady force in New York theatre for years now, bringing great pathos to her characters and richness to her plots. After writing her Detroit cycle, in which she chronicled the lives of those from around her hometown, the award-winning playwright now turns her attention to her ethnic background in Haiti. Focusing on two cousins, one a first-generation Haitian American, the other a born and bred Haitian, Morisseau dives into how different these characters’ worlds are, even though both live in colonized countries.

Interrogating cultural identity and geopolitical issues with nuance, wit, and smarts, Bad Kreyòl examines what it means to be a model member of a cultural identity — if such a thing even exists. The play takes a sharp look at everything from the presence of NGOs in Haiti to the thorny relationship between the island nation and the United States. Fireworks, and ones not so patriotic, may be on display.

What to watch for

• Dominique Morisseau has enjoyed great success on New York stages and is perhaps best known for her play Skeleton Crew, a New York Times Critics Pick starring Phylicia Rashad that was also nominated for Best Play at the Tony Awards.
• In addition to being a celebrated playwright, Morisseau has also worked in musical theatre, picking up her first Tony Award nomination for writing the book to Ain*'t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations*.
• Kelly McCreary (Grey’s Anatomy) appears as Simone in this new play opposite Tony Award nominee Pascal Armand (Eclipsed) as her cousin Gigi.
• Director Tiffany Nichole Greene has worked at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, and even as a resident director of Hamilton on tour.