Vogue
In The Collaboration, Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope Take On Warhol and Basquiat
The Collaboration
By Anthony McCarten
Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
With Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope, Krysta Rodriguez, Erik Jensen
ON BROADWAY AT THE
SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE
Opened Sunday, December 18, 2022
Closed Saturday, February 11, 2023
Warhol. Basquiat. Electric, eccentric, polar opposites… together, for the first time in the most unlikely partnership the art world has ever seen. Paul Bettany (The Avengers, “WandaVision,” “A Very British Scandal”) and Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy, Ain’t Too Proud, The Inspection) star in the thrilling American premiere of the London sensation.
In the summer of 1984, longtime international superstar Andy Warhol and the art scene’s newest wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat, agree to work together on what may be the most talked about exhibition in the history of modern art. But can these two creative giants co-exist, or even thrive? The stage is their canvas in this sizzling tour-de-force by Anthony McCarten (four-time Oscar®-nominated writer of The Two Popes and Bohemian Rhapsody), directed by the acclaimed Kwame Kwei-Armah (Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic).
Masks are required for all audience members attending performances on Tuesday evenings and Sunday matinees. For all other performances, masks are not required, but strongly encouraged.
The world premiere of The Collaboration was originally produced by the Young Vic Theatre London in January-March 2022 in partnership with Eleanor Lloyd, Anthology Theatre, Stanley Buchthal and Eilene Davidson in association with Denis O’Sullivan.
Support for The Collaboration is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Approximately 2 hours, including a 15 minute intermission.
★★★★!“The Collaboration packs a real punch!”
The Times of London
★★★★!“The exquisite Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope are a perfect pairing.Kwame Kwai-Armah’s production is HYNOPTIC!”
The Daily Mail
See why The Collaboration has hit ‘Trending’ on Show-Score and why audiences are loving it!
“Two of the best acting performances in modern Broadway history. Bettany is excellent, Pope is the next big thing in acting.” — Michael E.
“From the moment you enter the theatre, you are drawn in. Excellent!” — Joey F.
“One of the most important plays I have seen in years.” — Joyce W.
★★★★!“WOW! This powerful, fascinating play brings fireworks to the stage!Bettany and Pope match each other in BRILLIANCE.”
Evening Standard
★★★★!CAPTIVATING AND BRILLIANT!”
Daily Telegraph
Cast
Paul Bettany
Andy Warhol
Bettany was classically trained at the Drama Centre in London. He made his stage debut in a West End production of An Inspector Calls under the direction of Stephen Daldry. He then spent a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in productions of Richard III, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. He returned to the stage to appear in Joe Penhall’s Love and Understanding at London’s Bush Theatre. He later reprised that role at the Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut.
He starred as ‘Vision’ in the Disney+ series “WandaVision”, which earned him a Primetime Emmy® Award nomination. Previously, he starred as ‘Vision’ in the films Captain America: Civil War, The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War.
In 2020 he was seen in the Emmy® Nominated film Uncle Frank for writer/director Alan Ball, released by Miramax/Amazon Studios.
He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and a London Film Critics’ Circle Award for IFC’s Gangster No. 1, directed by Paul McGuigan. He went on to star in Brian Helgeland’s film A Knight’s Tale opposite Heath Ledger. Other credits include the Academy Award winning film A Beautiful Mind; Fox’s Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World for director Peter Weir, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor and won an Evening Standard Award for Best British Actor, the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor and Elle Style Award for Best Actor.
Other credits include the Academy Award nominated film Margin Call.
Paul Bettany was most recently seen in the BBC/Amazon Studios series “A Very British Scandal” starring opposite Claire Foy. Upcoming, he will be seen in the Miramax dramedy Harvest Moon, from a script he co-wrote and co-produced with Dana Brown.
He made his directorial debut with the film Shelter starring Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie.
Jeremy Pope
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jeremy Pope made history by earning two Tony Award® nominations in the same season: Best Lead Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy, and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his Broadway musical debut as Eddie Kendricks in Ain’t Too Proud. His role in Choir Boy also earned him a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, along with an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination and a Drama League Award nomination.
Pope starred in Netflix’s “Hollywood”, a performance that earned him an Emmy® Award nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series and an African American Film Critics Association Breakout Performer Award and he can be seen in the final season of the Emmy nominated television series, “Pose.”
Jeremy recently wrapped filming the lead role in A24’s The Inspection and released his single “Uptown Apartment” featuring Earth, Wind, & Fire’s Verdine White.
Krysta Rodriguez
Maya
Krysta currently stars as Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Into the Woods. She most recently starred in Netflix’s limited series “Halston” from Emmy-Award winning creator Ryan Murphy, starring as the iconic entertainer Liza Minnelli. Her Broadway credits include Spring Awakening (OBC and Deaf West revival company), First Date, The Addams Family, In the Heights, A Chorus Line (revival) and Good Vibrations. Rodriguez played Megara in the world premiere of Disney’s Hercules (Public Works) and received an Outer Critics Circle honor for her performance in Theresa Rebeck’s Seared (MCC Theater). Other memorable turns include West Side Story (Anita; Kennedy Center), A Chorus Line (Diana; Hollywood Bowl) and What We’re Up Against (Off-Broadway). On television, Rodriguez is best known for her roles in “Smash,” “Daybreak,” and “Trial & Error” and recurring on “Quantico,” “Younger,” “Chasing Life,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Married” and “Gossip Girl.
Erik Jensen
Bruno Bischofberger
Erik is an actor, writer and director. TV credits include two seasons of ABC’s “For Life” and over 100 other film/TV credits including NY Yankee Thurman Munson in “The Bronx is Burning.” Theater: Disgraced (Lincoln Center), The Good Negro (Public Theater), Corpus Christi and Y2K (MTC), and Lester Bangs in How To Be A Rock Critic (CTG, Steppenwolf, The Public), which he co-wrote with his wife Jessica Blank. With Jessica, Erik also wrote The Exonerated, Aftermath (NYTW), The Line (The Public) and Coal Country (The Public, Cherry Lane/Audible). They have written TV for Fox, 20th TV, Gaumont, Levinson/Fontana, more; current TV projects in development with David Simon/Blown Deadline and Ed Burns. Their first feature, Almost Home, was released by Vertical Entertainment. They are developing How To Be A Rock Critic for feature film and have documentary features in development on legendary rock engineer Eddie Kramer (Meteor17) and on the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster (prod. Audrey Rosenberg/EP Steve Earle).
Paul Bettany
Andy Warhol
Jeremy Pope
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Krysta Rodriguez
Maya
Erik Jensen
Bruno Bischofberger
Matthew Griffin
u/s Jean-Michel Basquiat
I am thrilled to be a member of this incredible company and show. Credits include — Broadway: Tina — The Tina Turner Musical (OBC), TV/Film: “Inventing Anna” (Netflix, Co-Star), “Godfather of Harlem” (EPIX, Co-Star), Off-Broadway: The New Yorkers at City Center, Born For This (Cutler Majestic), Cruel Intentions the Musical, Much Ado About Nothing, and others. All Glory to God. Thankful for my family and friends, KMR Talent, and you.
Amaia Arana
u/s Maya
Amaia is thrilled to be making her Broadway debut! Regional: Three Sisters (Two River Theatre); Christa McAuliffe…(Center Theatre Group); Merchant of Venice, Richard III, Coriolanus, Pericles (Shakespeare Theatre NJ). TV: “New Amsterdam”, “The Blacklist”. Film: i feel ya (dir. André 3000), The Seagull (dir. Mike Newell). MFA: NYU Grad Acting, BFA: SCAD. All my love and thanks to: Jack & team at Professional Artists, Puppies, Pod Pals, Sox y mi amor. Te quiero mas.
Matthew Griffin
u/s Jean-Michel Basquiat
Amaia Arana
u/s Maya
Creative
Anthony McCarten
Playwright
Anthony McCarten is a New Zealand-born playwright, novelist, journalist, television writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing the biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Two Popes (2019). A double BAFTA-winning screenwriter, he has been nominated four times for Academy Awards, among them nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes. He is the author of ten previous plays and writer of the ‘book’ for the upcoming Neil Diamond Broadway musical, A Beautiful Noise (2022). The Collaboration, about Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat, is the second installment of his The Worship Trilogy, the other two parts being The Two Popes and Wednesday at Warren’s, Friday at Bill’s, about the friendship of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. As a sequence, they separately explore our worship of religion, art and money. His upcoming film as writer and producer, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, is to open worldwide this Christmas from Sony Pictures, and is about the life and music of Whitney Houston. He lives in London.
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Director
Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE is Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre. He was Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage (2011-18) and Artistic Director of the Festival of Black Arts and Culture, Senegal (2010), where he wrote and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor stadium. His work as a director includes: Twelfth Night, Tree, Changing Destiny and The Collaboration (Young Vic); Jazz, Marley, Amadeus, Dance of the Holy Ghosts, The Mountaintop, An Enemy of the People, The Whipping Man and Things of Dry Hours (Baltimore Center Stage); Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, New York); The Liquid Plain (Signature Theatre, New York and Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Porgy and Bess (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) and the Olivier Nominated One Night in Miami for Best New Play 2016 (Donmar Warehouse). As a playwright, Kwame was the first African Caribbean to have a play produced in London’s West End (Elmina’s Kitchen). His triptych of plays was produced at the National Theatre, where he later created the online resource The Black Play Archive. Further credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneatha’s Place (Baltimore Center Stage), Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre). Kwame was Chancellor of the University of the Arts, London (2010-2015), is Patron of Ballet Black, The Black Cultural Archives, Chair of Warwick Arts Centre Advisory Board and a Trustee of the Tate. Kwame was awarded an OBE for Services to Drama in 2011, and in 2020 was listed as one of 100 Great Black Britons.
The Young Vic Theatre
For over fifty years, the Young Vic has produced new plays, classics, musicals, book adaptations, short films, digital projects, and game-changing theatre. We foster emerging talent and collaborate with some of the world’s finest directors, performers and creatives; creating award-winning productions, which engage with the world we live in. www.youngvic.org
Eleanor Lloyd Productions
Eleanor is the President of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and produces Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution at London’s County Hall (Olivier nomination). Recent productions include: A Christmas Carol; Constellations (Olivier Awards); Emilia (Olivier Awards); Nell Gwynn (Olivier Award); 1984 (including Broadway); My Night with Reg (Olivier nomination); Handbagged (Olivier nomination).
Anthology Theatre
Bob Benton’s Anthology Theatre has been investing and producing since 2010. Executive Producer Lil Lambley joined in 2020 to expand the business to a full scale production house and general manager. Having produced and managed eight major productions in 2022, The Collaboration is Anthology’s first Broadway production.
Stanley F. Buchthal
Stanley has won a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy and Sundance Awards. He produces film and TV through Dakota Group Ltd. Credits include Hairspray; Basquiat: The Radiant Child; Paper Dolls; LennoNYC; Berlin; Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict; Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell; The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix); The Collaboration (Young Vic).
Denis O’Sullivan
Denis O’Sullivan’s films as a producer and executive have grossed over $3.6 billion dollars, been nominated for 29 Oscars (winning 14), 17 Golden Globes (winning 5), and 29 BAFTA Awards (winning 10). Credits include Bohemian Rhapsody, The Young Victoria, and the upcoming I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Anna Fleischle
Set & Costume Design
Anna is an Olivier Award–winning and Tony-nominated production set and costume designer. Her work includes Hangmen (Broadway/Royal Court/West End; Tony Award nominee 2022, winner of Olivier Award, Critic’s Circle and Evening Standard Award for Best Set Design); Death of a Salesman (Broadway/Young Vic/West End); 2:22 a Ghost Story (West End, Ahmanson Theatre LA); Home I’m Darling (National Theatre/West End, Olivier Award nominee for Best Set and Best Costume Design); Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (West End and tour). Anna is a founding member of Scene/Change.
Ben Stanton
Lighting Design
Broadway credits include Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (starring Jefferson Mays), The Rose Tattoo (American Airlines), Derren Brown: Secret (Cort Theatre), Regina Spektor: Live on Broadway (LuntFontanne Theatre); JUNK (Tony nom, Vivian Beaumont Theater); Six Degrees of Separation (featuring Allison Janney, Corey Hawkins and John Benjamin Hickey); Deaf West’s Spring Awakening (Tony nom, Lena Horne Theatre); Fully Committed (starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson); Fun Home (Tony nom, Circle in the Square); Seminar (Golden). Live concert design for artists including The National, Regina Spektor, Sufjan Stevens, Beirut, David Byrne and St. Vincent.
Emma Laxton
Sound Design
Emma
trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She was the deputy head of sound at the Royal Court and a senior sound technician at the National Theatre. Theatre includes A Christmas Carol (The Old Vic); The Collaboration, Hamlet, Blood Wedding (Young Vic); Antigone (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Walden, That Face, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Emilia, Olivier Award for Best Sound Design. As associate: War Horse and Equus (West End); The York Realist, The Recruiting Officer, Measure for Measure, Coriolanus (Donmar); Living Newspaper, A Kind of People (Royal Court).
Duncan McLean
Projection Design
Duncan is an associate artist of the Young Vic. With all the theatres closed in 2020, Duncan started Green Room Distillery, producing multi award-winning gin. West End includes Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man, Nutcracker! and Cinderella (Sadlers); City of Angels (Donmar); Bodyguard (world[1]wide); Shrek (Drury Lane). New York includes Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes and Swan Lake (City Center); Privacy (The Public); The Jungle and The Tempest (St Ann’s); Let It Be (St. James); The Norman Conquests (Circle in the Square). International includes Starlight Express (Germany); The Two Popes (UK); Chess (Japan); An American in Paris (Austria); Evita (international). duncanmclean.co.uk @dmprojection
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Original Music
A British-born Jamaican, Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a MOBO Award-nominated singer/songwriter, cellist, pianist and composer who graduated with firsts from both Trinity Laban and the Manhattan School of Music. Her mastery for seamlessly crossing the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B to imprint her unique musical signature has seen her co-write a Grammy-nominated song with Anoushka Shankar, compose for the London Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet and The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company and become the only non-American to win Amateur Night Live at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Deborach Hecht
Dialect and Vocal Coach
Broadway: over 90 productions including MTC’s How I Learned to Drive, Saint Joan, Venus in Fur, Shining City; also Sing Street, How I Learned to Drive, Hangmen, The Ferryman, Harry Potter… and the recent and original productions of Angels in America. More on ibdb.com. Off-Broadway: LCT, Signature, NYTW, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, many others. Regional: upcoming Hamlet at Playmakers, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, others. England: RSC, Royal National. Film/TV: upcoming We Were the Lucky Ones, Tokyo Vice, “Fosse/Vernon,” All the Money in the World, Under the Skin, others.
James Latus
Production Stage Manager
Broadway: The Kite Runner, Oklahoma!, True West, Farinelli and the King, Time and the Conways, Indecent, Jitney, All the Way, A Time To Kill, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Clybourne Park, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, Stones in His Pockets, Bells Are Ringing, The Capeman. Productions Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, MTC, City Center, Shakespeare in the Park, Playwrights Horizons, BAM and others, plus numerous regional and international productions.
Karicean “Karen” Dick
Wig Design
Carol Robinson
Wig Design
Anthony McCarten
Playwright
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Director
The Young Vic Theatre
Eleanor Lloyd Productions
Anthology Theatre
Stanley F. Buchthal
Denis O’Sullivan
Anna Fleischle
Set & Costume Design
Ben Stanton
Lighting Design
Emma Laxton
Sound Design
Duncan McLean
Projection Design
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Original Music
Deborach Hecht
Dialect and Vocal Coach
James Latus
Production Stage Manager
Karicean “Karen” Dick
Wig Design
Carol Robinson
Wig Design
Paul Bettany, Erik Jensen in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paul Bettany in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jeremy Pope, Paul Bettany in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paul Bettany, Erik Jensen in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Krysta Rodriguez in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Krysta Rodriguez, Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jeremy Pope, Paul Bettany in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope in
The Collaboration (2022-2023)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
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Click here for a seating chart. The Friedman Theatre seats 650. Seating is on Orchestra, Premier Circle and Mezzanine levels—all seating accessible by elevator. For more information on accessibility, please click here.
Masks are required for all audience members attending performances on Tuesday evenings and Sunday matinees.
For all other performances, masks are not required, but strongly encouraged.