Just a week after opening, new Broadway play Ain’t no Mo’ announced that it would soon end its run.
Written by and starring Jordan E. Cooper — the youngest black American playwright in Broadway history — and produced by Lee Daniels, the play will close on December 18, unless the production can rally the audience and boost ticket sales enough to reverse the decision. So far, the production has received support from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who bought a performance of the show this week, with Cooper telling The Hollywood Reporter more to come.
The provocative comedy that asks the question “what if the US government tried to solve racism by offering black Americans one-way airline tickets to Africa?” features an all-black cast who act out the characters’ reactions in a series of sketches. Cooper plays Peaches, a bossy drag stewardess trying to organize the boarding process.
Although well reviewed, Ain’t no Mo’ has struggled at the box office for the roughly five weeks of its run thus far, highlighting the challenges of bringing new work to Broadway in the post-pandemic era. Especially for shows that do this without any known stars and in the midst of the work that remains to welcome audiences of color to Broadway. It’s a challenging close that’s on the heels KPOPan original work on Korean pop artists, which closed on Sunday after an equally short run.
“This is so much bigger than Isn’t Mo‘. We have to switch for the people who come after us. We can’t let this kind of work happen,” Cooper said. “It also deserves to be in a commercial space.”
Cooper spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the challenges of getting black audiences to the theater, how marketing and ticket prices fit into that, and the prospects for his show and other original works on Broadway.
In your initial Instagram message about the shutdown, you said this is an “eviction notice.” Are you saying the theater owners kick you out?
That was more of a metaphor. Essentially, the Shuberts were like “You have to close on December 18th.” Fortunately they have been very nice. They are not like some evil landlords. They were really nice as far as the movement goes and trying to see, ‘Can you guys make it? Can you do it?” So that’s why we’re really pushing right now. I always say, where I come from, “If somebody can’t pay rent, we’re throwing a rent party.” We’re going to throw a rent party at this theater for the next eight shows to help this kind of theater survive on Broadway.
So it’s just a matter of boosting ticket sales this week?
It’s all about the cash register. Basically, do you cover the running costs of the show? Because they don’t have a new show until April. So it’s about getting the audience to show up. The reviews are great. The public loves it. The problem is we just didn’t have time to come [to] the audience to which this show belongs. We don’t have a celebrity on the show. It is not based on a recognizable IP address. So if you’re a show of color, and you don’t have to have those things, it takes a little bit more time to build your audience and build some buzz.
I think we’ve seen that with KPOP. KPOP has millions of fans of that genre alone and people saw themselves on a Broadway stage who had never seen themselves on a Broadway stage before. Its closure is a mockery because it’s a red alert that we need to change the way we do marketing when it comes to shows like this. We can’t do the same old traditional Broadway things. We have to try something new. Because many of these audiences that will really enjoy these works are outside of the traditional Broadway audience. It’s not the same people who want to see Bette Midler Hi Dolly!, unless you’re me, because I fit both categories. But it’s a conversation that artists of color have had for a long time, and I think we’re seeing the fruits of that now.
What other challenges does the show face?
I think what we’re seeing right now, even outside of people of color, is that theater is struggling on Broadway. I think post-pandemic, when they pay premium prices for a show, people want to know they’re getting something they already know. They don’t care what it is if Samuel Jackson is in it or Denzel Washington is in it or Jessica Chastain is in it or Nathan Lane is in it. Even if it doesn’t feature celebrities, they want recognizable IP. They want to know that the Backstreet Boys music is going to be in it. They want to know that they’re going to hear or see a Katy Perry song or a Britney Spears song MJ whether it is based on a movie. Those are the things that are guaranteed to be bought now. It’s an interesting time to actually take a chance on art. And I think that’s really the conversation that needs to be had, on top of the idea that color shows just don’t get a chance to find their audience if they don’t have those things to lean on.
How do you think Broadway ticket prices play into this?
We want everyone to participate. But we also have to go to the people who would rather spend $400 on a pair of Jordans than spend $150 on a Broadway show. We’ve worked hard [on Ain’t No Mo’] to make sure the tickets had a certain price so people could afford to see it. I believe the average ticket was $21. But we did that on purpose because we wanted to make sure people who normally felt they couldn’t afford Broadway could come. The problem is we made those ticket prices so low for those people, but we weren’t marketing to those people.
We made $20 tickets for the first preview, but we just weren’t reaching the people that needed to be reached. You put those things on it Poster, you put those things on it Theater maniado you post those things on the Ain’t no Mo’ Broadway page, but the people we really need don’t follow those pages. They don’t always go to theatre. They don’t always feel welcome in the theatre. And that’s who I made the show for.
What kind of marketing would you like to see?
(laughs.) I want airplanes. I want buses. I’ve never seen a subway poster for it. I’ve never seen a billboard. And not only in Manhattan, but also in Brooklyn, around churches in Harlem. Just as the government knows where to put a liquor store, we need to know where to put a black play. (laughs.) They know where to put a prison. We need to know where to place a black game. That’s the energy and that’s the intentionality needed for these works to survive in these kinds of environments.
You announced that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith bought a show from Ain’t no Mo’ this coming week. How did that happen?
They had heard about the show, that we were closing after a week of opening, and how good it is. Fortunately, Lena Waithe, our co-producer, is friends with Jada and they called. Jada was like “I want to help because we were part of it Fela! and we know how hard it is.” That’s the kind of activism that is so highly valued. That’s when you put your money where your mouth is.
What is your goal for the rest of the week?
All I can do is keep fighting, so right now I’m pushing and encouraging people to come and support the show and get a ticket or sponsor a ticket. Luckily we have these really generous people like Will and Jada who buy out houses. Then we’ll have some more generous people coming to do talkbacks and hosting nights.
I think we really have a chance and if there was no chance I would say so.
On social media, you wrote, “We’re doing something new on Broadway, but is Broadway ready?” What is your reaction to that?
I think it has no choice. Just as the world had no choice when we wanted change. Just as America had no choice when the Civil Rights Act was passed. The world happens. What’s in the Broadway Bible? Chapter one, verse one. “You can’t stop the beat.” That is what prophet Tracy Turnblad say.
What do you hope for the plays that come after you?
I hope people come out and support and people see the dignity in the work and really get into what Broadway is like. Just like everything else in the world has had to shift.
Isn’t Mois my love and hate letter to America. I also think it’s my love and hate letter to American theater because there’s something about loving something that much, even if it wasn’t built for you. You love something so much, even if it’s not necessarily meant for you. I believe that you can love something so deeply that it has to make room for you. And I love Broadway so much, and I think it’s going to make room for me. If not for Jordan Cooper, if not for Is not Mo’, it’s going to make room for someone else. And I am grateful for that.