Divatamer
  • Bio
  • About Charles
  • Gallery
  • Wright Family Foundation
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Jay Ellis And Stephanie Nur Illuminate Love Without Borders In ‘Duke And Roya’

July 14, 2025/0 Comments/in Duke & Roya, For Theatre, Love In Afghanistan, News /by divatamer
July 04 , 2025 | Written By Jeryl Brunner | Forbes
Link to the original post – Click Here
Cornelius Smith Jr as Frederick Douglass and the cast of American Prophet. Photograph: JEREMY DANIEL @JEREMYDANIELPHOTO

In Duke and Roya, a young American rapper and an Afghan interpreter meet in Kabul under the most unlikely of circumstances—on a U.S. military base where he is performing for the troops. What unfolds is a cross-cultural story that defies expectations and borders, both literal and emotional.

“It’s a love story,” says Stephanie Nur, who plays Roya. “It’s cleverly written and unexpected. You’ve never seen this combo onstage or on screen before. These are the kinds of stories we need—told from different perspectives and rooted in real human experience.” Nur, whose credits include 1883, Special Ops: Lioness, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, makes her New York stage debut.

Written by Charles Randolph-Wright and directed by Warren Adams, the play, which is currently running at the Lucille Lortel Theater, has evolved over more than a decade. Randolph-Wright began writingDuke and Roya while a resident artist at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. A prolific writer, director, and producer across film, television, and theater, he was inspired by a book about women in Afghanistan that “floored” him.

“I thought, we as Americans are so myopic. We have no idea about the rest of the world and are taught to stay in our own little box,” he says. So he wanted to share a story about human connection that transcends those boundaries.

Jay Ellis, who plays Duke is known for his roles in Top Gun: Maverickand Insecure. He also makes his New York theater debut. Other than doing a solo show based on his book, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?, Ellis hadn’t performed onstage since playing Will Parker in Oklahoma! back in middle school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ellis was drawn to the play’s honesty and vulnerability. “It was the human experience,” says Ellis. “To watch two people from completely different worlds explore each other and themselves—it’s magical. They’re just having a conversation, saying, ‘We’re different, but that doesn’t mean we have to scream at each other. That doesn’t mean we can’t find understanding. Their relationship is flirty, sexy, romantic, and beautiful.”

Ellis performs original rap songs onstage—his first time rapping professionally. Songwriter and artist Ronvé O’Daniel collaborated with Randolph-Wright to create the raps that mirror the layered identities of the characters.

From the creative team to the cast, the process of making Duke and Roya has been deeply collaborative. “It’s a very open room,” says Dariush Kashani, who plays Roya’s father. “We are with people who really care and are open to each other’s ideas.”

The team—including producers Kerry Washington and John Legend—was drawn to how the play centers the transformative power of love in a divided world. “These are the kinds of stories we need,” says Noma Dumezweni, who plays Duke’s mother. “They are told from different perspectives and ask the big question: How do we connect?”

For Randolph-Wright, Duke and Roya couldn’t be more timely. “People’s rights are being taken away,” he says. “Even if you are not exactly like the characters in this play, you will identify on some level. I love collisions—and this play has a lot of them. But the problem now is, we’re not allowed to have collisions. We’re not allowed to educate, or to have joy. And joy is imperative in the midst of devastation.”

Duke and Roya explores intimacy, identity, and the universal need to feel loved. “Without knowing anything about the play, anybody can buy a ticket, sit down and be moved,” says director Warren Adams.

Producer Naturi Naughton-Lewis encourages audiences to “come with an open heart and mind—ready to take the ride and go on the journey with us,” she says. “I hope we make hearts flutter,” adds Nur. “I hope people leave talking about what the play means. And I hope it brings more empathy into the world.”

Dariush Kashani and Noma Dumezweni in a scene from Duke & RoyaDariush Kashani and Noma Dumezweni
(C) JEREMY DANIEL @JEREMYDANIELPHOTO
https://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/960x0.jpg 639 959 divatamer http://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRW-logo33-300x201-300x201.png divatamer2025-07-14 02:59:042025-07-14 03:14:49Jay Ellis And Stephanie Nur Illuminate Love Without Borders In ‘Duke And Roya’

Broadway director Charles Randolph-Wright returns to D.C. with a play about love and war

September 13, 2015/0 Comments/in Love In Afghanistan, News /by divatamer

When you’re setting a play in a country you’ve never visited, it’s certainly a good idea to run the piece by people with more intimate knowledge of the place. This was the task dramatist Charles Randolph-Wright dutifully performed in getting his new work, “Love in Afghanistan,” up on its feet.

“We just got Janet’s notes,” he was informed one day at Arena Stage, where the drama, about an American rapper who falls in love with an Afghan interpreter, begins its world-premiere run Friday. The Janet in question was Janet Napolitano, who, you might be aware, recently left her post as secretary of Homeland Security and who, it is reliably reported, is both an avid theatergoer and an acquaintance of Arena’s artistic director, Molly Smith.

Read the full article here.

https://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRW-at-Arena-Stage.jpg 403 606 divatamer http://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRW-logo33-300x201-300x201.png divatamer2015-09-13 07:24:542021-12-15 16:09:58Broadway director Charles Randolph-Wright returns to D.C. with a play about love and war

Charles Randolph-Wright on ‘Love in Afghanistan’

September 13, 2015/0 Comments/in Love In Afghanistan, News, Uncategorized /by divatamer
http://divatamer.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/divatamer.com-Charles-Randolph-Wright-on-‘Love-in-Afghanista.mp4

Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright reflects on his new play, “Love in Afghanistan,” during its world premier at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

https://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/charles-randolph-wright-on-PBS.jpg 1080 1920 divatamer http://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRW-logo33-300x201-300x201.png divatamer2015-09-13 07:16:402017-10-15 07:24:48Charles Randolph-Wright on ‘Love in Afghanistan’

Year of Living Famously

September 13, 2015/0 Comments/in Love In Afghanistan, News /by divatamer
Michael McCarthy | Photo: Greg Powers | September 26, 2013

Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright redefines the boundaries of romance during wartime.

Charles Randolph-Wright can’t believe his good fortune. He’s about to introduce the world premiere of Love in Afghanistan at Arena Stage; he’s already getting overtures for screen adaptations of the play; and he recently watched musical luminaries Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Smoky Robinson rush the stage to praise his direction of Motown on Broadway. “The curtain call for Motown was one of those inexplicable moments—one you hope to come remotely close to once in your career,” says Randolph-Wright, who, along with producing for film and TV, is a resident playwright at Arena Stage.

Love in Afghanistan is his ninth work for Arena—previous productions have included Blue and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined—and it’s by far the most daring. He read stories in The New York Times and other publications a few years ago about the Afghan practice of bacha posh, where Afghan families without sons will pick a daughter to behave and dress like a boy to gain honor and, for poor families, to obtain work. “I was mesmerized,” he says. “I wondered what happens when girls—who pretend to be boys from the age of 5—grow up. How do they navigate the world?” For most, the question is cocktail-party fodder. For Randolph-Wright, the issue is chased and cornered until it becomes a new play.

Because of suggested travel restrictions to Afghanistan, Randolph-Wright was unable to visit the country while writing. Instead, “Afghanistan came to me,” he says. “It’s one of the most inspiring things that’s ever happened to me. I’ve met so many people—Afghans and Western journalists—one of the most influential was a young woman living in the Midwest named Faheema who was bacha posh. She allowed me to see into her remarkable world.”

The play’s protagonists—Duke and Roya, a Western hip-hop artist and an interpreter who endured bacha posh—tangle with love amid war’s upheaval. Randolph-Wright explains, however, that the play’s title isn’t merely a reflection of human adoration. “It’s about love of country, too,” he says. “Most of us look at Afghanistan as over there. And it’s not—it’s now part of us. If I can’t change the world, I want to influence the people who can. DC is the perfect place for this play. Art is the salve that heals our wounds.”

https://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/988743_10151722200129895_2031923880_n.jpg 390 455 divatamer http://randolph-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRW-logo33-300x201-300x201.png divatamer2015-09-13 07:15:032017-10-15 07:16:35Year of Living Famously
  • Modern Single EntryJuly 15, 2015 - 3:48 pm
  • Classic Single EntryJuly 15, 2015 - 3:48 pm
  • Classic Single Entry #2July 15, 2015 - 3:46 pm
  • MacBook PRO & SSDJuly 15, 2015 - 3:41 pm

Categories

  • Akeelah & The Bee
  • American Prophet
  • Blue
  • Born For This
  • Charles Randolph-Wright
  • Delilah
  • Duke & Roya
  • For Television
  • For Theatre
  • Love In Afghanistan
  • Motown The Musical
  • News
  • Orfeus
  • Take the Ice
  • Uncategorized
  • Underground Railroad
  • Video Clips
  • Wright Family Foundation

Recent Posts

  • Visit the official site – Duke & Roya at Lucille Lortel Theatre through August 23rd
  • Jay Ellis And Stephanie Nur Illuminate Love Without Borders In ‘Duke And Roya’
  • Charles Randolph-Wright on the Heroes Who Gave Him Permission to Dream
  • New musical honors Frederick Douglass’ life and writings
  • In beguiling ‘American Prophet,’ Frederick Douglass lets freedom sing

Pages

  • About Charles
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Gallery
  • Home
  • Legal notice
  • Terms of Service
  • Wright Family Foundation

Categories

  • Akeelah & The Bee
  • American Prophet
  • Blue
  • Born For This
  • Charles Randolph-Wright
  • Delilah
  • Duke & Roya
  • For Television
  • For Theatre
  • Love In Afghanistan
  • Motown The Musical
  • News
  • Orfeus
  • Take the Ice
  • Uncategorized
  • Underground Railroad
  • Video Clips
  • Wright Family Foundation
© Copyright 2019 - Divatamer
  • Terms of Service
  • Legal notice
Scroll to top