On November 4, 2018, Kerry Washington returned to Broadway after being away for nearly a decade. The Emmy-nominated actress took the stage as the lead in a new play, American Son. The play’s run has recently come to an end but Washington will be reprising her role in an upcoming Netflix film adaption by the same name, according to a report from Vulture.
American Son was originally written by Christopher Demos-Brown and the entire play takes place inside a police station located in Miami, Florida. Washington plays a distraught mother searching for answers regarding her missing son. Washington’s character is forced to team up with her estranged husband, played by The Good Wife’s Steven Pasquale, to figure out what happened to their 18-year-old son. The pair meets two officers in the police station played by Jeremy Jordan of Supergirl and Eugene Lee from A Soldier’s Play.
Pasquale, Lee, and Jordan will all be reprising their roles from the Broadway production as well.
The play takes a deep looking at issues of race and police violence, and it’s likely the film adaption will explore similar themes. The film will be directed and produced by Kenny Leon and production for the Netflix adaptation will begin in February in New York.
“American Son powerfully explores themes of family, love and identity,” Cindy Holland, Netflix’s Vice President of Original Content, recently said.
When asked why she decided to return to Broadway in this role, Washington said it was a special story, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.
“It’s definitely, for me, one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever taken on as an actor. It’s very special to me. It’s a really beautiful play about parenting and about love and about identity and race,” she explained to E! News.
The original play had a star-studded production team as Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Shonda Rhimes, and Jada Pinkett Smith all served as producers on the project. And according to the play’s dedicated Instagram page, several big names showed up to support Washington and the rest of the cast, including Oprah, Alicia Keys, and Michelle Obama.
Washington was also a producer on the Broadway play so it is possible that she will also play a part in producing the film; however, this has yet to be confirmed. Washington is expected to star in and produce two new projects exclusively for Hulu; she will be tackling Little Fires Everywhere and Old City Blues.