''Trouble in Mind'' is a play by

Alice Childress Alice Childress (October 12, 1916 – August 14, 1994) was an American novelist, playwright, and actress, acknowledged as "the only African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic ...

, which debuted

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in 1955. It premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

's American Airlines Theatre on November 18, 2021. The play focuses on racism and sexism in American theatre. It was published in the anthologies ''Black Theater: a 20th Century Collection of the Work of its Best Playwrights'' ( Dodd, Mead & Co. 1971), the second edition of ''Black Drama in America: an Anthology'' (

Howard University Press Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...

, 1994), ''Plays by American Women: 1930-1960'' (

Applause Books Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, 2001), and ''Alice Childress: Selected Plays'' (

Northwestern University Press Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticism ...

, 2011). It was first published on its own by

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

in 2022.

Productions

Original 1955 Off-Broadway

The original Off-Broadway production was produced by Stella Holt, sponsored by the Village Presbyterian Church and the Brotherhood Synagogue. Childress co-directed, alongside

Clarice Taylor Clarice Taylor (September 20, 1917 – May 30, 2011) was an American stage, film and television actress. She is best known for playing Cousin Emma on ''Sanford and Son'' and the mother of Cliff Huxtable Anna Huxtable on ''The Cosby Show''. and Mr ...

, who also starred as Willetta.

Hal England Harold Franklin England (October 2, 1932 – November 6, 2003) was an American actor. Personal life He was born on October 2, 1932 to W. F. England and Della Irene England in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He attended Kings Mountain High School ...

was featured in the supporting role of Eddie. The sets and lighting were designed by Vincent Sorrentino. The production opened on November 3, 1955, and ran for 91 performances. In 1957, a Broadway transfer had been planned, renamed ''So Early Monday Morning''. The production was cancelled as Childress refused to subdue its content.

1992 British Premiere

The play made its British premiere at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

in London on October 8, 1992, directed by

Nicolas Kent Nicolas Kent (born 26 January 1945) is a British theatre director. His father arrived in Britain in 1936, a Jewish German refugee, and changed his name from Kahn to Kent. Early life and education Kent, who was brought up in Hampstead Garden Su ...

Carmen Munroe Carmen Esme Munroe, (born 12 November 1932)

starred as Wiletta with

Maurice Roëves John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 ...

as Al. The production ended on November 14.

2017 London

Following a run at Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Theatre, a new production opened in London at the Coronet Theatre from September 14 to October 14, 2017, directed by

Laurence Boswell Laurence Boswell (born 1959) is a theatre director, whose credits include Ben Elton's Popcorn, Madonna in her London stage debut, Eddie Izzard in a revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, and Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayden Christensen, Fr ...

. It starred

Tanya Moodie Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#T ...

and Jonathan Slinger.

2021 Broadway Premiere

''Trouble in Mind'' finally made its Broadway debut on November 18, 2021, at the American Airlines Theatre. It was directed by

Charles Randolph-Wright Charles Randolph-Wright is an American film, television, and theatre director, television producer, screenwriter, and playwright. Early life A native of York, South Carolina, Randolph-Wright graduated with honors from York High School. He at ...

and featured sets designed by Arnulfo Maldonado, costumes designed by

Emilio Sosa Emilio Sosa (born February 23, 1967) is a costume designer for Broadway and is the current Chair for the American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees in New York City. He is a Tony Award nominated costume designer and is best known for his works Topdog ...

, lighting designed by Kathy A. Perkins, sound design by

Dan Moses Schreier Dan Moses Schreier is an American composer and sound designer. He is best known for his theatrical music work, on Broadway and elsewhere. Schreier is from Detroit, and lives in New York City. He studied music at the University of Michigan and ...

, original music by

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

, and hair and wigs designed by Cookie Jordan. The production starred

LaChanze Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; born December 16, 1961), is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson ...

as Wiletta,

Michael Zegen Michael Jonathan Zegen (born February 20, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Rescue Me (American TV series), Rescue Me'' (2004–2011), ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2011–2014), and ''The Marvelous Mr ...

as Al, Chuck Cooper as Sheldon,

Danielle Campbell Danielle Marie Campbell (born January 30, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Jessica Olson in the 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie '' Starstruck'', Simone Daniels in the 2011 Disney film ''Prom'', Davina Clair ...

as Judy,

Brandon Micheal Hall Brandon Micheal Hall (born February 3, 1993) is an American actor. On television, he starred as the lead of the ABC sitcom '' The Mayor'' (2017) and the CBS comedy-drama ''God Friended Me'' (2018–2020). Hall also appeared as a series regular o ...

as John, Jessica Frances Dukes as Millie, Don Stephenson as Bill, Simon Jones as Henry, and Alex Mickiewicz as Eddie. The limited run closed on January 9, 2022, after 58 performances and 20 previews. The production was nominated for four

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

including Best Revival of a Play, Best Actress in a Play (LaChanze), Best Featured Actor in a Play (Chuck Cooper), and Best Costume Design in a Play (Emilio Sosa).

2021 London

Less than a month after the opening of the Broadway production, the National Theatre in London opened a production at its Dorfman Theatre on December 10, 2021. Moodie reprised her role from the 2017 production. This production was directed by Nancy Medina and starred (along with Moodie)

Cyril Nri Cyril Ikechukwu Nri (born 25 April 1961) is a Nigerian-born British actor who is best known for playing Superintendent Adam Okaro in the police TV series ''The Bill''. Early life Nri was born in on 25 April 1961 in Nigeria. Nri's family are ...

Rory Keenan Rory Keenan (born 9 June 1980) is an Irish actor. Career Primarily a stage actor, Keenan has worked extensively in theatre in London. He has worked in film and TV from a young age. Most has performed in the National Theatre's acclaimed produc ...

, Naana Agyei-Ampadu, John Hollingworth, Emma Canning, and Daniel Adeosun.

Other productions

Other productions of ''Trouble in Mind'' have included: * New Federal Theatre Project, 1979. Starred

Theresa Merritt Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24, 1922 June 12, 1998), known professionally as Theresa Merritt, was an American actress and singer. She's known for her role in '' That's My Mama'' (1974-1975) and for her film roles in ''The Wiz'' (1978) and ''B ...

. *

William Sloane House The William Sloane House (also known as the William and Frances Crocker Sloane House) is a mansion located on 686 Park Avenue between 68th and 69th Streets in the Upper East Side of New York City. It was constructed for the industrialist William ...

, 1987. *

Negro Ensemble Company The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation ...

at Theatre Row, 1998. *

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

, 2007. * Aurora Theatre Company, 2010. *

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

, 2011. *

Intiman Theatre Festival Intiman Theatre Festival in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 1972 as a resident theatre by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it for August Strindberg's Stockholm theater.

, 2013. *

Two River Theater Two River Theater is a professional, not-for-profit, regional theater company producing plays and educational programs for audiences from central New Jersey and beyond. It is located in Red Bank, New Jersey, on the peninsula between the Navesink ...

, 2014. *

PlayMakers Repertory Company PlayMakers Repertory Company is the professional theater company in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. PlayMakers Repertory Company is the successor of the Carolina Playmakers and is named after the Historic Playmakers T ...

, 2015. *

, 2019. *

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...