92 Time November 25, 2019
OPENING UP
BROADWAY
JEREMY O. HARRIS | 30
By Lynn Nottage
When I first encountered Jeremy O.
Harris’ work, I knew he was a play-
wright to be reckoned with. As a cre-
ator, he brings his irreverent style and
flair for the dramatic to all aspects of his
art practice. His vibrant, multi layered
plays—like Daddy and Slave Play, which
opened on Broadway in October— invite
the audience into volatile worlds where
identity politics are parsed out with
humor and pathos, leaving us with a
heightened sense of awareness. By ex-
posing ancient wounds with the hopes
of healing them, Jeremy doesn’t shy
away from asking tough and taboo ques-
tions about the sexual and emotional
lives of the characters in his plays—and
in doing so, he forces us to confront our
own fears and desires. In this way, his
work is both titillating and challeng-
ing, and unabashedly human. Jeremy is
a playwright with a mission, and he has
made it his business to open up Broad-
way and beyond to a new generation
of theatergoers by ensuring that young
and diverse audiences have access to
contemporary storytelling. By using
social media and his forays into the
fashion world as new ways to reach and
grow audiences, he has expanded the
breadth of traditional theater.
Nottage is a two-time Pulitzer Prize–
winning playwright