TheatreSquared continues its electrifying 20th anniversary season with the world premiere of Malcolm X & Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem, a bold new comedy from nationally acclaimed playwright Jonathan Norton. Fresh off recognition from the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Grant for innovation, TheatreSquared puts its award-winning vision into action with this premiere. The play was commissioned by T2 in 2023 and was first introduced to Northwest Arkansas audiences at the 2024 Arkansas New Play Festival, where it drew immediate acclaim for its wit, humanity, and urgency. Now, in a landmark co-production partnership with City Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, and Dallas Theater Center, TheatreSquared brings this groundbreaking premiere to audiences nationwide. Fresh off recognition from the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Grant for innovation, TheatreSquared puts its award-winning vision into action with this premiere.
The show opens October 1 in TheatreSquared’s Spring Theatre (477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville), and runs through October 26 with 7:30 pm performances Tuesday through Saturday and 2:00 pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets, from $25-71, can be purchased by calling (479) 777-7477 or by visiting https://www.theatre2.org/jimmys-chicken.
From left to right: Edwin Green (Little), Trey Smith-Mills (Foxy)| Photo Credit: Wesley Hitt
1943. Two young Harlemites – Little and Foxy – form an unlikely friendship over leftover fried chicken and dirty dishwater. Then a long hot summer of heartbreak, betrayal, and racial uprising moves them farther from each other—but much closer to the history-making American icons they are destined to become. This electrifying world premiere blends sharp humor with raw humanity, revealing the laughter, struggle, and brotherhood that shaped two legends.
“In the five years I’ve been here, we haven't had a show with this much buzz—this is a show that The New York Times and American Theatre are paying attention to,” notes the show's director, Dexter J. Singleton. “The fact that this is our inaugural original commission is a great thing. It establishes us as a creator of new work in addition to being a theater where the Arkansas New Play Festival takes place.”
“We are thrilled to see the excitement building around this commissioned work,” agrees T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. “Supporting bold new works like Jonathan’s is at the heart of our mission to produce work in NWA that helps keep American theater vibrant and alive. Sharing in our commitment to new works are our three co-producing partner theatres, City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh), Virginia Stage Company (Norfolk), and Dallas Theater Center, who will also have this incredible piece shared with their communities across the country.”
“Partnering with these other amazing organizations is truly a testament to the power of collaboration and how the relationships we build can help shape us into something more. Just like this play offers audiences a rare glimpse into the moments that shaped two extraordinary men,” adds T2 Executive Director Shannon A. Jones. “By exploring their struggles, their humor, and their resilience, we celebrate their journeys while supporting fresh voices in American theater.”
In addition to Norton and Singleton, the show’s creative team includes Kimberly Powers (Scenic Design), Claudia Brownlee (Costume Design), Levi J. Wilkins (Lighting Design), Howard Patterson (Sound Design), Brodie Jasch (Props Designer), Patti Kelly (Production Stage Manager) and Jessica Reddig (Assistant Stage Manager).
The acting company includes Trey Smith-Mills (Foxy) and Edwin Green (Little). They are alums of the University of Arkansas and will travel across the nation with several of the co-productions.
For Singleton, history, humor, and hope are highlights of Norton’s script—but he cites something else as the aspect of the show that moves him most.
“In this play, Jonathan shows us the vulnerability of men—which you rarely get to see,” he says. “Both of these men cry, they rely deeply on friendship, brotherhood, and finding your chosen family outside of your birth family. The fact that both of these people never give up — that in spite of everything, if you have a friend or someone to lean on in times of need— those relationships will give you hope for another day. If these young men hadn’t found this support, they would have never been able to become the great men we know them as today.”
Tickets
Performances of Malcolm X & Redd Foxx Washing Dishes in Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem are scheduled from October 1 through October 26, with 7:30 pm performances Tuesday through Saturday and 2:00 pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. The play is in the Spring Theatre at TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring Street in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. Tickets range from $25-$71. All fees are included, with no additional charges at checkout.
Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $1 tickets, while students and patrons under the age of 30 can purchase $15 tickets. Fully subsidized, free tickets are also available for clients of a number of local community service organizations. For more information, visit theatre2.org/lights-up.
About TheatreSquared
TheatreSquared’s signature offering of bold new plays in an intimate setting at 477 W. Spring St in downtown Fayetteville, AR has driven its growth to become the state’s largest theater, offering more than 350 performances annually in an intimate setting. The playwright-led company is one of mid-America’s leading laboratories for new work, having launched more than 70 new plays. Offering far-reaching access and education programs and an open-all-day gathering space, the Commons Bar/Café, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that "theater—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities."
Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 20 is provided by the Walton Family Foundation; the Walmart Foundation; the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation; the Windgate Foundation; the Shubert Foundation; the Simmons Family Foundation; the Tyson Family Foundation; the American Theatre Wing; the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts; Arts Midwest; Bob and Becky Alexander; Jane Hunt; Cece Box and Ric Cooper; Barbara Shadden; and Todd Simmons and Melissa Hall Simmons.
Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 20 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, 3W Magazine, CitiScapes, KUAF, 5NEWS, MailCo USA, iHeart Radio, NWA Daily, and ROARK.