Lead producer Brian Anthony Moreland announced that Tyler Perry has joined the current Broadway revival of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” as a co-producer. The 2026 production, starring Taraji P. Henson as Bertha Holly and Cedric the Entertainer as Seth Holly, is currently in previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre ahead of an opening night of April 25. The production is directed by Debbie Allen.
“Joe Turner” marks Perry’s first Broadway producing credit. Perry is an award-winning writer, director, producer and actor. He is known for creating and portraying the character Madea and for building a wide-ranging entertainment empire across film, television and theater. Perry is the founder of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, one of the largest production facilities in the United States. Perry’s work includes films such as “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Madea’s Family Reunion,” as well as television series including “House of Payne,” “The Oval” and “Beauty in Black.” He is an Emmy Award winner, having received the Governors Award for “his unprecedented achievements in television and his commitment to offering opportunities to marginalized communities through personal and the Perry Foundation programs of inclusion, engagement, employment and other philanthropic initiatives,” and an Academy Award winner, having received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In addition, Perry has received multiple NAACP Image Awards.
“I’m so excited to be joining the producing team of this play,” Perry said in a statement. “August Wilson’s work is a beautiful cornerstone of the Black experience. I’ve had the privilege of working with several members of this incredible cast, including Taraji and Joshua [Boone], as well as the brilliant Debbie Allen, who directed this masterpiece. Audiences are truly in for a treat, and I can’t wait for them to experience what this team has created.” Moreland said Perry “is a natural-born storyteller” and added that the team is “thrilled to have him” on the production.
Set in 1911, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” takes place in a Pittsburgh boarding house run by Seth and Bertha Holly. The play follows Herald Loomis, a man searching for his wife after years of forced labor, as he seeks to reclaim his identity. The play is the second installment in Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a 10-play series chronicling the African American experience across the 20th century.
“Joe Turner” is being produced on Broadway by Moreland, with 101 Productions Ltd./Chris Morey serving as general managers. The revival is co-produced by Perry along with Kandi Burruss, the Apollo, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, Shamea Morton Mwangi, RR Fund 2, Charles D. Urstadt, Score 3 Partners, Timothy J. Adams and Sheila R. Tillerson Adams, Creative Partners Productions, Draper Moore Productions, John Gore Organization, Je’Caryous Johnson, Michael Katz, Willette Klausner, David Kobrin, Ubuntu, Dr. Yolanda Ragland, Lu-Shawn M. Thomspon, The Shubert Organization, Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne, Christopher A. Reid/Shannon Nash, Jackson Chery/Chandler Young, Lloyd Tichio Productions/Javon Ford, Sean Nyberg/Jacquelyn Bell Kearney, Prof. Pat Parks/James L. Walker Jr., Valencia Yearwood/Suzan Johnson Cook, Melonie Carnegie/Theatre Nerd Productions, Phyllis Newhouse/Michelle Falconer, Mona Scott-Young/Dr. Jatali Bellanton, Michael & Jacqueline Lopez, Gabriel Szajnert, and Constanza Romero Wilson.
