When Colman Domingo’s Dot premiered at the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival last March, Marjorie Johnson’s performance of “Dotty,” the title character, was hailed as “entirely genuine and convincing” and a “a highlight of the festival.” However, when the cast was announced for the Vineyard Theatre’s Off-Broadway premiere, Tony-winning singer/actress Leslie Uggams was initially cast in the title role. Well, it appears that Johnson is now headed to New York to reprise her role after Uggams dropped out.
As we previously reported, Uggams was scheduled to play the family matriarch who’s dealing with dementia and squabbling children during the holidays. However, she opted to join the cast of the smash hit Fox network drama, “Empire,” in a recurring role instead.
In the Vineyard Theatre’s production, Johnson will be joined by Stephen Conrad Moore and Sharon Washington.
Johnson’s stage credits include The Little Foxes on Broadway, and Hoodoo Love, M: The Mandela Saga, and The House of Bernarda Alba off-Broadway. She’s also appeared on the big screen in “American Gangster,” “Boiler Room,” “Life Breath,” “Hill and Gully,” and “Fleecing Led Zeppelin.” Johnson has received a Best Actress Audelco Award for her portrayal of “Winnie Mandela” in M: The Mandela Saga, a Best Supporting Actress Audelco Award for “The Candy Lady” in Hoodoo Love, and a Philadelphia Critics Award Nomination for “Mrs. Antrobus” in The Skin of Our Teeth.
Dot, which has been called a “testament to the enduring bonds of family,” isn’t Domingo’s first foray into playwriting. The Tony-nominated actor also penned a one-man autobiographical play A Boy and His Soul, for which he won a GLAAD Award: Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off–Broadway. He also wrote and starred in Wild with Happy.
Susan Stroman, who won a Tony Award for The Producers, will direct Dot. The play premiered in the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year.
Dot is will begin previews on February 4 with an official opening on February 23 at the Vineyard Theatre. The play is scheduled to run through April 3, 2016. For tickets and more information visit vineyardtheatre.org.
