The Off-Broadway Todrick Hall musical Midnight has canceled the first week of its previews, and will now begin September 25 at the Daryl Roth Theatre. The production had been announced to begin September 17 ahead of a September 27 opening, later quietly canceling the first week. The production will now open October 15, and is slated to continue through November 8.
Hall, who has written and is slated to star in the musical along with serving as its lead producer, posted a video statement on Instagram after fans began to notice the canceled performances via the musical’s ticketing platform, blaming the postponement on “so many unforeseen circumstances.” Hall seems to then imply that the delays may involve issues with performer and audience safety around the musical’s physical production. “What we are doing with this show is unprecedented for this theatre,” he shares. “It’s a massive set. There are 140 costumes. We are doing things that they’ve never done there before.” Hall shares performing as originally scheduled would have involved theatregoers signing waivers. “I think that this show has been so carefully crafted—every stanza, every piece of music, every melody, every everything, I’ve just handcrafted it with so much love,” he says. “This is the closest I’m ever probably going to have to birthing a baby, and I just wanted it to be done correctly.”
Watch the full statement below.
The musical, which also features Hall’s choreography, follows six Black characters and six white characters whose lives in the American South of the 19th century are interconnected, their relationships pitting them against the worlds they have inherited and the assumptions they carry.
Hall will lead the company as Rail, with Jeremy Beloate (The Voice) as Richard, Jimmy Brewer (Shucked) as Harry, Kennedy Caughell (Hell’s Kitchen) as Scarlet, Dwayne Clark (Shucked) as Horace, Sidney DuPont (Paradise Square) as Squeak, Ayana George (MJ The Musical) as Ethel, Autumn Hurlbert (Tammy Faye) as Charlotte, Kolbi Jordan (American Idol) as Happy, Bella Coppola (Smash) as Violet, Ciaran McCarthy (Kinky Boots) as Sylvester, and Charlotte Odusanya (The Wiz) as Lily Rose.
The cast will also feature Gregory Carl Banks Jr. (Back to the Future), Kyla Bartholomeusz (Hamilton), Keely Beirne (Moulin Rouge!), Zachary Bigelow (Something Rotten!), Brandon Burks (Gypsy), Jaylon C. Crump (Hadestown), Abbey Friedmann (Back to the Future), Ndaya Dream Hoskins (SMASH), Omar Madden (Real Women Have Curves), Brayden James Newby (Moulin Rouge!), JJ Niemann (Hamilton), Barnaby Reiter (Titaníque), Aveena Sawyer (Little Shop of Horrors), Nissi Shalome (Some Like It Hot), Bronwyn Tarboton (Frozen), Jenni Thomasson (Radio City Christmas Spectacular), Matthew Varvar (The Outsiders), and Emily Yates (42nd Street). Casting is by Sujotta Pace and Stephen Kopel.
The production will also feature music supervision, arrangements, co-orchestration, and music direction by Laurence Stannard, co-orchestration by Mark Crossland, scenic design by Morgan Large, costume design by Beck Jones, lighting design by Jake DeGroot, sound design by Lawrence Schober, and wig and hair design by Charles G. LaPointe. McBee will serve as production stage manager. Parish Productions’ Lauren Parrish is serving as production manager, with general management by ShowTown Theatricals.
Hall’s background lies in stage performance, appearing on Broadway in The Color Purple, Memphis, and Chicago. After his Broadway beginnings, Hall made a name for himself as a viral content creator, amassing more than nine million followers across multiple platforms. Artists he’s collaborated with include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, RuPaul, Cynthia Erivo, Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth, Amber Riley, and more.
In recent years, Hall has returned to the world of stage musical theatre, appearing in Chicago in London’s West End along with Wild About You and Burlesque, the latter of which he also directed and choreographed.
Midnight is being produced by Midnight 1200 LLC and Caryn Sterling.
Tickets are at MidnightOffBway.com.