Henson was credited as a producer on the Tony nominated 2023 play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, but Joe Turner’s Come And Gone will mark her first time on the Broadway stage itself. She’ll star as Bertha Holly, a character People describes as “the warm and welcoming matriarch of a Pittsburgh boarding house,” opposite Cedric as her husband Seth. This production will mark Cedric’s second time on the Great White Way; he previously starred in a short-lived 2008 revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo.
The play will be directed by Emmy and Golden Globe winner Debbie Allen, who’s also a two-time Tony nominee for her work in West Side Story (1980) and Sweet Charity (1986). She previously directed an all Black production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat On A Hot Tin Roof starring James Earl Jones, her sister Phylicia Rashad, and more.
Joe Turner’s Come And Gone marks the second play in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, which tells one story of Black American life from each decade of the 20th century. Joe Turner’s Come And Gone specifically follows Herald Loomis, a formerly enslaved man who comes to the Hollys’ boarding house while searching for his lost wife. “As old wounds surface and spiritual forces awaken, Loomis’s journey becomes a powerful quest for identity, belonging, and healing,” a synopsis of the play reads, via Deadline. “Around him, others seek connection, purpose, and a future shaped by more than pain. Through poetic dialogue and deeply human characters, August Wilson crafts a story of resilience and rebirth.”
Henson joins an impressive group of performers who’ve recently made their Broadway debuts. Nicole Scherzinger, Sarah Snook, George Clooney, and Robert Downey Jr. all performed in their first shows this season, with Scherzinger and Snook both taking home Tony Awards for their efforts. We’ll see if Henson can add a Tony to her already-impressive collection when Joe Turner’s Come And Gone premieres spring 2026.
