Independent Arts News Reporting Arden Theatre Company Brings Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play, Topdog/Underdog, to Philadelphia Beginning October 29
Reported on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Pictured Above: Akeem Davis and George McGriff. Photo Credit: Contribted.
NEWRSOOM POST: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Akeem Davis and George McGriff star as brothers Lincoln and Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks’ gripping drama, co-produced with People’s Light at Arden Theatre, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia-based Arden Theatre Company (40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106) continues its 2026/27 Mainstage Season with Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize winning play Topdog/Underdog, a gripping two-person drama exploring brotherhood, rivalry, survival, and the ties that bind families together. Directed by three-time Barrymore Award-winning artist Amina Robinson and co-produced with People’s Light, Topdog/Underdog starts its run on the Arden’s Arcadia stage on October 29, with Arden’s opening night on November 4, and performances running through December 13.
Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog tells the story of brothers Lincoln and Booth, unfortunately named as a joke by their father, foretelling a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Now adults, they share a single room passing time telling stories, testing each other, and circling the street con game of three-card monte. Haunted by the hands they’ve been dealt, the brothers reckon with what their futures will entail.
“Topdog/Underdog is one of those plays that reveals something new every time you encounter it,” said Director Amina Robinson. “Suzan-Lori Parks has created two unforgettable characters whose humor, pain, and resilience stay with you long after the play ends. To bring this story to life with artists from People’s Light and Arden is incredibly exciting because it reflects what makes Philadelphia’s theater community so special…a willingness to collaborate, challenge one another, and create work that’s bigger than any one institution. I’m especially excited to see how the distinct spaces and stages at People’s Light and Arden will shape the production in different ways and how each environment will invite us to discover something new in the play.”
The People’s Light/Arden co-production of Topdog/Underdog opened in September in People’s Light’s Steinbright Theater, and the same artists now bring it to the Arden, offering audiences the play in a distinctly different theatrical space. Topdog/Underdog brings the two theatres together once again to create a shared production for audiences across the Philadelphia region.
“The Arden is thrilled to co-produce Suzan-Lori Parks’ brilliant play with People’s Light and this remarkable team of Philadelphia artists,” said Terrence J. Nolen, Producing Artistic Director at Arden Theatre Company. “Amina Robinson has directed a production that is set here in Philly, with a cast that features two great Philadelphia actors — Akeem Davis and George McGriff. Between People’s Light and Arden, Akeem and George will be performing this play 89 times — allowing an extraordinary opportunity for their work to grow and deepen and for audiences throughout the region to experience this revelatory play that The New York Times has called ‘the greatest American play of the past 25 years.'”
“Topdog/Underdog is exactly the kind of work that benefits from artists and institutions coming together around a shared creative vision. This collaboration with the Arden allows the production to have a life beyond a single stage and invites audiences in two distinct communities to experience Suzan Lori Parks’ powerful examination of family, identity, and survival,” said Zak Berkman, Executive Artistic Director for People’s Light. “The Arden and People’s Light are siblings in our commitment to stage vibrant, heart-stirring theatre, and we are proud to share this production with our Old City kin as we build the kind of creative partnerships that strengthen theatre throughout our region.”
The cast and crew of Topdog/Underdog include:
Akeem Davis (Lincoln) has appeared in numerous Arden productions, including The Mountaintop (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), Intimate Apparel (George Armstrong), King Hedley II (King Hedley II), The Lehman Trilogy (Mayer Lehman), A Streetcar Named Desire (Harold Mitchell), Gem of the Ocean (Citizen Barlow), and A Doll’s House (Krogstad), for which he received the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play in 2018. Davis also directed the Arden’s 2026 production of Good Bones. His regional credits include performances at Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, InterAct Theatre Company, and Theatre Horizon. Davis is also a Helen Hayes Award nominee and recipient of the 2015 F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist.
George McGriff (Booth), a graduate of Temple University, makes his Arden debut. Regionally, McGriff has appeared in productions at the Wilma Theater, EgoPo Classic Theater, InterAct Theatre Company, and South Camden Theatre Company.
Pictured Above: Akeem Davis and George McGriff. Photo Credit: Contribted.
Amina Robinson (Director) is a three-time Barrymore Award-winning Philadelphia director whose work is well known to Arden audiences. Robinson has directed several Arden Theatre productions, including last season’s Romeo and Juliet, Intimate Apparel, Once on This Island, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, and 74 Seconds…To Judgment. Her regional credits include work with Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Horizon, Azuka Theatre, Lantern Theater Company, Passage Theatre Company, IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles, CA, and Queens Theatre in New York, NY. Robinson has also performed on Broadway, national tours, in film, television, and in national commercials.
The production team includes Amina Robinson (Director), David P. Gordon (Scenic Designer), Leigh Ivory Clark Paradise (Costume Designer), J. Dominic Chacon (Lighting Designer), Caroline Eng (Sound Designer), Gina Pisasale (Dramaturg), Eli Lynn (Fight Director), and Matthew Ryan Melchoir (Stage Manager).
Suzan-Lori Parks is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose works include Topdog/Underdog, Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), The Book of Grace, In the Blood, Venus, 365 Days/365 Plays, and The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World. In 2002, she became the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog. Honors for her work include a MacArthur Fellowship, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History, the Horton Foote Prize, and an Obie Award. Her work on The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess was honored with a 2012 Tony Award.
Topdog/Underdog begins previews October 29, opens Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m., and runs through December 13 on the Arcadia Stage. Single ticket prices vary by performance and start at $32. Tickets are available at ardentheatre.org, by phone at 215.922.1122, or at the box office at Arden Theatre Company (40 N. 2nd Street).
Select performances and events include
Accessibility Open House sponsored by PNC Arts Alive | Friday, November 6, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. This season, with generous support from PNC Arts Alive!, the Arden invites the public for two free Accessibility Open Houses — a relaxed, no-ticket-needed chance to explore the tools and services that make live theatre welcoming for every patron. Audiences will learn how to access free and discounted tickets to Arden productions all season long, and connect with organizations working to make arts and culture more accessible across Philadelphia.
Pay-What-You-Choose Performance| Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Final dress rehearsal performance benefitting Urban Affairs Coalition, in-person donations accepted.
Young Friends Night | Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 7 p.m.
Networking and pre-show talkback event for professionals 40 and under. Use code: YFARDEN.
Teen Night | Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 7 p.m.
$15 tickets and a post-show talkback for teens ages 13–18.
Post-Show Talkbacks | Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. and Thursday, December 10, at 7 p.m. Join a member of Arden’s artist team for post-show talkbacks.
Student Matinee | Tuesday, November 24, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
Want to bring a school group? Submit a group inquiry.
PNC Arts Alive! | Accessibility: The Arden is for Everyone
The Arden is fully accessible and proudly named a Keystone of Accessibility by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Accessibility resources include assistive listening devices, sensory processing tools, caption glasses, large-print programs, and more. Learn more at ardentheatre.org.
Caption Glasses | Starting Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Wearable, customizable closed captioning glasses are available to reserve for performances.
Open Captioning | Friday, November 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 21, at 2 p.m. Live, on-stage text display of all words and sounds.
Audio Description | Friday, November 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 21, at 2 p.m. Live, verbal description of actions and visual effects.
About Arden Theatre Company
Arden Theatre Company, founded in 1988, is a professional theatre company in Old City, dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers on the stage, in the classroom, and in the community. To date, the Arden has produced 46 World Premieres. The Arden has developed four distinct educational programs: Arden for All, our in-school arts education program for elementary level students; Arden Drama School, our on-site, tuition-based theatre classes for pre-K through 12th-grade students; Teen Arden, our theatre enrichment program for high school students; and the Arden Professional Apprentice program, a rigorous training program for young theatre professionals. More at ArdenTheatre.org.
