For Taraji P. Henson, stepping onto a Broadway stage for the first time is not just a career milestone, it is the fulfillment of something that has been decades in the making.
The Oscar-nominated actress is currently making her Broadway debut in the highly anticipated revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, directed by Debbie Allen, and she is not holding back when it comes to describing just how demanding the experience has been. Speaking on Live with Kelly and Mark on April 16, Henson described the transition to live theater as nothing short of intense.
Broadway, she explained, operates on an entirely different level from film or television. Performing the same role eight times a week in front of a live audience demands a particular kind of stamina and presence that the camera simply does not require and Henson says the energy exchange with the audience is something she has genuinely missed.
The undeniable energy of live theater
Henson, who was formally trained in theater, noted that her stage background has always informed her work in other areas, including hosting major live award shows. The key difference with theater, she said, is immediacy. On a film set, a performer never knows in real time whether a moment has landed the reaction only comes later, in the editing room or at a screening. On stage, everything is felt instantly, and that aliveness is something she finds both thrilling and deeply motivating.
The show, she added, is never the same twice. Unlike a finished film, there is no locked version of a stage production. Every performance is shaped by who is in the room, and Henson has leaned fully into that unpredictability.
A story rooted in history and the present
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is the second installment in Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a landmark 10 play series that chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century. The revival began previews on March 30 at the Barrymore Theatre in New York City, with an official opening night set for April 25. The limited run continues through July 26.
Henson stars as Bertha Holly opposite Cedric the Entertainer as Seth Holly a married couple who operate a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, providing shelter to Black travelers caught in the upheaval of the Great Migration. The story centers on Herald Loomis (Joshua Boone), a man searching for his lost wife after years of forced labor, seeking to reclaim not just his family but his identity.
The full ensemble cast includes: Ruben Santiago Hudson as Bynum Walker, Maya Boyd as Molly Cunningham, Savannah Commodore and Dominique Skye Turner sharing the role of Zonia Loomis, Abigail Onwunali as Martha Loomis, Bradley Stryker as Rutherford Selig, Tripp Taylor as Jeremy Furlow, Christopher Woodley and Jackson Edward Davis sharing the role of Reuben Scott, and Nimene Sierra Wureh as Mattie Campbell. Understudies include Jasmine Batchelor, Rosalyn Coleman, Thomas Michael Hammond, Cayden McCoy and Kevyn Morrow.
Henson has spoken about the production’s spiritual dimension and its resonance with the current moment. The themes of displacement and family separation that Wilson wrote about more than 40 years ago feel, in her view, very much alive today, a testament to how enduring and necessary the work remains.
A full circle moment for Henson
Beyond the performance itself, the role carries deep personal significance for Henson. She has shared that she first encountered Wilson’s work during her time at Howard University, and that Joe Turner’s Come and Gone was reportedly the playwright’s own favorite among his plays. For her, being cast in this particular revival is not a coincidence it feels like a moment she was always moving toward.
She has also expressed enormous pride in her younger castmates, describing the new generation of theater performers as the future of the art form and one she believes is in exceptionally capable hands.
As for the nerves that come with opening night, Henson is not looking to quiet them. She views that anxious energy not as a threat but as a signal proof that she is present, that the work matters, and that she is exactly where she is supposed to be.
