Michael Potts

Windfall @steppenwolfthtr

KING 👑 LEAR ACTOR SPOTLIGHT: MICHAEL POTTS Michael Potts plays King Lear and Gloucester in Compagnia de’ Colombari’s KING LEAR adapted & directed by Karin Coonrod, playing through February 8 at La MaMa @lamamaetc (tickets 🎫 in bio and at LaMaMa.org) “The ensemble, which speaks the verse with casual virtuosity, includes several theatrical heavyweights, including Michael Potts (“The Piano Lesson”)…Together, they represent Lear’s divided mind. Potts gives Lear warm authority (no wonder Kent follows him!).” —Helen Shaw, The New York Times (Critic’s Pick) “Micheal Potts gives Gloucester a grave, weathered dignity, which makes his gullibility toward his illegitimate son Edmund all the more painful.” —Tony Marinelli, TheaterScene “I was rooting for Michael Potts (the charismatic standout of the 2022 revival of The Piano Lesson) to wind up the last Lear standing, but he makes for a magnificently moving Gloucester.” —Dan Rubins, Theatermania “Her (Abigail C. Onwunali) scenes with Michael Potts crackle with intelligence and pleasure, two actors meeting the language at full velocity, unafraid of its density, delighted by its danger.” —Montserrat Mendez, Culture Mental Michael Potts (King Lear/Gloucester) Broadway: The Piano Lesson (Outer Critics Circle Nom.), The Iceman Cometh (Richard Seff Award), The Prom, Jitney, The Book of Mormon, 1984 and Grey Gardens. Other credits: Richard III (Falstaff Award), Mother Courage, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and The America Play (Obie Award). Television & film: Highest 2 Lowest, The Piano Lesson, Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Rounding, “Best Medicine,” Nemesis,” East New York,” “The First Lady,” “L&O: SVU,” “True Detective” and “The Wire.” Yale School of Drama graduate. @mpotts62 Photos 📸 by @the_shinster Shin Kurokawa #michaelpotts #kinglear #lamama #compagniadecolombari #theatre

👏👏👏 A standing ovation for this unparalleled ensemble: 👑 Michael Potts as King Lear / Gloucester 👑 Abigail Killeen as King Lear / Goneril 👑 Tom Nelis as King Lear / France 👑 Celeste Sena as King Lear / Cordelia 👑 Elijah Martinez as King Lear / Edmund 👑 Abigail C. Onwunali as King Lear / Edgar 👑 Lukas Papenfusscline as King Lear / The Fool 👑 Jo Mei as King Lear / Regan 👑 Paul Pryce as King Lear / Kent 👑 Tony Torn as King Lear / Oswald Featuring Paul Wellington, Sasha Aronson, and Peter Gomez as the Black Angels, with Whitney Andrews and Nomè SiDone as Understudies. Meet the extraordinary actors of Compagnia de’ Colombari’s revolutionary KING LEAR. In this groundbreaking production, each performer takes on the immense title role and another pivotal character, creating a profound and prismatic exploration of power, family, and madness. Director Karin Coonrod’s vision is at the heart of this: “All ten actors play King Lear AND another character in the world of the play. This shared, fragile ‘paper crown’ is what makes our version a primal, physical, potent Lear—turning the epic into an essential live encounter. The point? To obey Kent’s central command to the King himself: ‘See better.’” This is the Lear you need to SEE. Experience the command to “See better” for yourself. 📅 Off-Broadway Run: January 23–February 8, 2026 📍 Theatre: La MaMa ETC 🎟️ LINK IN BIO #LaMaMa #Shakespeare #KingLear #NYCTheatre #CompagniaDeColombari La MaMa @lamamaetc in association with @compagniadecolombari 📸: @the_shinster (Shin Kurokawa)

We are thrilled to announce the premiere of A REFUTATION, which presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of excerpts from two conflicting historic accounts of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic as a catalyst for guided audience discussions about health inequities in America today, grounded in the perspectives of nurses, caregivers, and first responders. These readings will feature pamphlets, letters, and rebuttals by Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, Matthew Carey, and Benjamin Rush, performed by Chad Coleman (The Walking Dead, The Wire), Brían F. O’Byrne (Conclave, Million Dollar Baby), Michael Potts (The Wire, The Piano Lesson), and Peter Marks (former chief theater critic for The Washington Post). These free, public, live, hybrid events will be broadcast from Washington, D.C. at Ebenezer United Methodist Church on Feb 21 (7:00pm-9:30pm EST) and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on Feb 22 (2:00pm-4:30pm EST). Register to attend in person or on Zoom via the links in our bio! The primary text—a pamphlet by Absalom Jones (the first Black Episcopal priest) and Richard Allen (founder of the AME church) describing the Black community’s experience of the epidemic—was the first federally copyrighted text by African American authors. It was written in response to a highly popular, short history of the epidemic by the Irish American publisher Matthew Carey, which traded in racist tropes and asserted that Black nurses and first responders had swindled and extorted the white population of Philadelphia for which they cared. In their pamphlet, Jones and Allen vigorously refuted Carey’s claims and debunked the medical theory—widely held at the time—that African Americans were immune to yellow fever, by drawing a stark, unsparing picture of their service and suffering during the epidemic. Presented by Theater of War Productions with generous support from The Greenwall Foundation in celebration of its 75th anniversary. In partnership with the DC Public Library and Ebenezer United Methodist Church - Capitol Hill.

Michael Potts told us what it was like bringing “The Piano Lesson” from stage to screen. Head to the link in our bio to learn more! #NewYorkLiveTV #MichaelPotts #ThePianoLesson

@danielledeadwyler & @mpotts62 share how a film about family and legacy allowed THE PIANO LESSON cast to become their own family. 📸Monica Schipper/Getty Images

@johndavidwashington , @ray8fisher , @coreyhawkins and @mpotts62 , describes the pressure, preparation, and passion required to bring August Wilson’s powerful work THE PIANO LESSON to life. #TIFF24

#TIFF24✨ Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington, Malcolm Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, and Virgil Williams of #ThePianoLesson visit TheWrap’s portrait studio at the Toronto International Film Festival. 📸: @oshane.howard 🍾: @moetchandon 🪑: @bossdesignus

We think #TheWire is one of the best television shows ever. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that we asked @mpotts62 if his famed Wire character Brother Mouzone has any similarities to his latest role in The Piano Lesson, premiering at @tiff_net today. — #TIFF #TIFF24 #reels #thewire #interview

Grand night at The Gotham Awards Me Styled By @TedBaker for the #GothamAwards #Rustin #Netflix Stylist: @Cat Pope Grooming: @Marina Dubrovina Suit: @Ted Baker #Rustin #netflix #gothamawards2023

A staple of the stage and screen, Michael Potts is Wining Boy in The Piano Lesson on Broadway. Now extended through Jan 29 only–get tickets now at pianolessonplay.com

Thank you, Whoopi! They’re beautiful.