Don't miss your final chances to see Immediate Family, directed by Phylicia Rashad and written by Paul Oakley Stovall!

You know the adage, “Good things come in small packages”? Throughout August, the Blumenthal is proving just how true that is.  

The good thing refers to Immediate Family, a powerful family drama written by Paul Oakley Stovall (George Washington in Hamilton) and directed by a legend. Tony Award–winning actress, director and TV star Phylicia Rashad (Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show) has been in town for a couple of weeks preparing the cast of Broadway veterans for the play’s regional premiere. 

And the small package refers to the Booth Playhouse, the 434-seat theater and “little sister” to the 2,100-seat Belk Theater. Part of Blumenthal’s 2024–25 PNC Broadway Lights series, Immediate Family – described as Modern Family meets Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – runs through September 7.

The Booth creates a rare sense of intimacy between audiences and cast members, but it’s a considerably smaller space than these actors are used to.

“I think that’s why Phylicia has been pushing us to be naturalistic,” said Britney Coleman, who plays Ronnie, the biracial half-sister of the fictional Bryant siblings, who gather – for the first time in years – for a family wedding. “We don’t have to project to the 3,000th person in the second tier of the balcony. It’s going to feel almost like everyone’s in the house with us. I’m really excited for that.”

(The cast of Immediate Family with director Phylicia Rashad and writer Paul Oakley Stovall. Photo by Marc J Franklin.)

Stovall’s drama explores familial relationships, particularly within a Black family. And his hometown of Chicago – specifically historic Hyde Park, where he grew up – is the setting for the fraught reunion. While Hyde Park is racially diverse, the larger area it’s part of – Chicago’s South side, where Michelle Obama was born and raised and Barack Obama got his start in politics – is predominately African-American.

Fun fact: Stovall, on a break from acting, worked in the Obama White House in media relations.

In the play, the siblings gather at their late father’s house for Tony’s wedding. “The house is another character in the show,” Coleman said, describing the importance of the set. 

Prodigal son Jesse – although still not out to everyone in the family – returns home with his new boyfriend. Baby brother Tony is eager to get married, but no one is sure why. And big sister Evy wonders why her brothers are so distant.

The siblings have known about Ronnie, their half-sister, since they were preteens, but Ronnie hasn’t been a big part of their lives – mostly because their father, a pastor who wasn’t always faithful to his wife, refused to acknowledge paternity.

(Britney Coleman as Ronnie. Photo by Marc J Franklin)

This marks Coleman's fourth time on a Charlotte stage. Her three previous visits were to the Belk stage. She played the lead (Bobbie) in the Broadway national tour of Company in 2023, and she played Barbara in the touring company of Beetlejuice that same year. In 2015, she was part of the Beautiful tour.

“This is my first time staying in Charlotte for more than a week,” she said. “I’m excited to see what’s beyond downtown. I will be going back to Mert’s, though.”

What attracted Coleman to the play? She had a succinct response: “Phylicia Rashad.”

“I hadn’t worked with her before,” she said. “Knowing her body of work, and having recently seen a Broadway play she directed called Purpose – that won the Tony for best play – I really wanted the opportunity.”

Rashad, whom she called an “actor-focused director,” is “striving for authenticity. We want to make it feel like we’re actual people living in real scenarios, rather than just, you know, arguing for the sake of having an argument.”

Besides, Coleman – who’s herself biracial – said, “It’s rare that roles are written specifically for biracial actors, and that also drew me in.”  

(Elijah Jones, Britney Coleman and Kai Almeda Heath. Photo by Marc J Franklin.)

Stovall – the playwright – is also in Charlotte, working with Rashad and the cast. His impressive resume includes co-producing 2022 Tony Award Best Musical winner A Strange Loop, portraying Belize in Angels in America and appearances in Shameless, Empire and Chicago Fire.

“It’s really nice to have the playwright around,” Coleman said. “He’s given us great insight. Some of the play is specific to Paul’s upbringing. We play a card game called Bid Whist, which I’d never heard of, but it’s a big game in the Black community. Paul was been pivotal in helping us understand how that game is played and how it fits into the story.”

And that story is about a particular family, but the themes are universal. Every family deals with heartbreak; secrets kept and revealed; absence, loss and grief. And love.

“The play poses big questions,” Coleman said. “What defines ‘immediate’ family? Is it by birth? By marriage? And what happens to siblings when the parents pass? Do you uphold those traditions, or do you make room for new ones?”

There are no easy answers. But what a rare treat to watch the Bryant siblings wrestle with those questions. And with each other.

(The cast of Immediate Family. Photo by Marc J Franklin.)

Immediate Family contains adult themes and strong language and may not be suitable for children under 12.