Jeremy Pope, left, and Paul Bettany in The Collaboration. Photo by Marc Brenner

Jeremy Pope made history by earning two Tony Award nominations in the same season (Choir Boy and Ain’t Too Proud), and now he’s returning to the stage to appear in a role he originated at London’s Young Vic Theatre.

The Collaboration explores the complex relationship between Andy Warhol (Paul Bettany) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Jeremy Pope) during the summer of 1984 when the pair agrees to work together on an art exhibition. The play is being presented as part of Manhattan Theatre Club’s season and begins previews at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on November 29, 2022.

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Written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody), the play captivated audiences during its London run.

“Fireworks really start to happen when the two men meet. Bettany’s Warhol is prissy, controlling and self-involved, Pope’s Basquiat expansive and self-destructive, with the ungoverned energy of a hyperactive child and his signature sea-anemone afro,” wrote Nick Curtis for The Evening Standard. “It’s a deeply showy exploration of artifice. To quote one of Basquiat’s favourite expressions: boom, for real.”

Pope has kept busy onscreen, too, appearing in Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood on Netflix and the final season of Pose. He recently wrapped filming A24’s The Inspection, written, directed, and based on the life of Marine Corps veteran Elegance Bratton.

The Collaboration is part of what’s shaping up to be a busy Broadway season, including an all-female/nonbinary revival of 1776 and a movie-to-musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.

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