Ain’t No Mo’, playwright Jordan E. Cooper’s acclaimed but struggling Broadway comedy, has extended its run for another week and will now play through Friday, December 23, at the Belasco Theatre.
Cooper announced the extension at the curtain call following tonight’s performance. The reprieve comes just days after the production, presented by Lee Daniels, announced a Dec. 18 closing date after just 22 previews and 21 regular performances.
See Cooper relay the news in the video above.
Cooper, the youngest Black American playwright to have a show open on Broadway, launched a #SaveAintNoMo social media campaign following the closing announcement, as he and Daniels have worked to rally support for the show. Ain’t No Mo’, which received strong reviews from critics, addresses, through outrageous comedy, poignant drama and biting satire, issues of racial injustice, with various scenes and vignettes built around the premise that the United States government has decided to “solve racism” by sending Black Americans back to Africa.
Since the launch of the awareness campaign, celebrities including Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, RuPaul, Tyler Perry, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, Queen Latifah, Shonda Rhimes and Sara Ramirez have stepped up to support the show, with, according to tonight’s announcement, “significant contributions” from Reverend Al Sharpton, Swizz Beatz, D-Nice, Derrick Hayes & Pinky Cole, Jeremy O. Harris, Denee Benton, Debbie Allen and Dominique Morrisseau.
Co-producers Lena Waithe and RuPaul hosted performances this week, with Perry and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith buying out entire performances.
Earlier this week, Deadline interviewed Cooper and Daniels about the show, the challenges of staging Black theater on Broadway, and the potential for extensions. “We don’t mind going down,” Cooper told Deadline, “but we ain’t going down without a fight.” Read the interview here.