| Superior Donuts | |
|---|---|
 Poster for the Broadway production | |
| Written by | Tracy Letts |
| Date premiered | 2008 |
| Place premiered | Steppenwolf Theatre Company |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | A small donut shop in Uptown, Chicago |
Superior Donuts is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts. Its world premiere was staged by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2008. It premiered on Broadway in 2009.
The play focuses on the relationship between despondent Arthur Przybyszewski, a former 1960s radical who owns a rundown donut shop in Chicago's Uptown, and Franco, his energetic but troubled young African American assistant, who wants to update the establishment with lively music and healthy menu options. Dialogue scenes are separated by soliloquies in which Arthur discusses his past and reminisces about the city as it was in his younger years.
The play, directed by Tina Landau, was performed at the Downstairs Theatre in Chicago by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company between June 19 and August 24, 2008. [1]
Again directed by Landau and with the Steppenwolf cast intact, the Broadway production began previews at the Music Box Theatre on September 16, 2009, and officially opened on October 1, with Michael McKean as Arthur Przybyszewski and Jon Michael Hill as Franco. Also in the cast were Yasen Peyankov as Russian appliance dealer Max Tarasov, James Vincent Meredith as local beat cop James Hailey, Jane Alderman as wise-crazy alcoholic Lady Boyle, Kate Buddeke as Randy Osteen (a cop who takes a liking to Arthur), Cliff Chamberlain as thug Kevin MaGee, Michael Garvey as surprise visitor Kiril Ivakina, and Robert Maffia as loan shark Luther Flynn. [2] The show closed on January 3, 2010. [3]
Despite its limited run on Broadway, Superior Donuts was slated to be produced by many regional theatres in the 2010–11 season. Pittsburgh Public Theater, Arden Theatre Company (Philadelphia), Denver Center Theatre Company, The Studio Theatre (in Washington, DC), San Diego Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks (California) and Mad Cow Theatre (Florida), Artists Repertory Theatre (Portland, Oregon) all planned to produce Superior Donuts in 2010–11. The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Sacramento's Capital Stage, and Chicago's Mary-Arrchie Theatre planned to produce Superior Donuts in their 2011–12 season. The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan, led off its 2012–13 season with Superior Donuts.
In May 2011, Superior Donuts was directed by Kate Powers [4] and performed for an audience of prisoners and community guests by a cast of prisoners who participate in Rehabilitation Through the Arts at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The Sing Sing cast was visited in rehearsal by Michael McKean, who shared his insight as Arthur Przybyszewski. [5]
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In his review of the original Chicago production, Charles Isherwood of the New York Times said the play "has a lot in common with the deep-fried breakfast food of the title. It’s insubstantial and sweet, with virtually no nutritional value. Still, minor though this comedy is, it is also hard to dislike. Who doesn’t hanker for a doughnut now and then?" [6] In reviewing the Broadway production, Isherwood described the play as "a gentle comedy that unfolds like an extended episode of a 1970s sitcom" and "a warm bath of a play that will leave Broadway audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves." He felt if the play "possesses the nostalgic appeal of a classic sitcom, it is also hampered by some of the genre’s standard flaws. A subplot about Franco’s gambling debts feels contrived, like one of those dubious byways cooked up by writers in the later seasons of a series, when inspiration flags and the characters’ interactions have begun to go stale. The ancillary characters... might have come straight from the Sidekicks, Neighbors and Friends rack, although the excellent actors imbue them all with a sharp specificity. The relationship at the heart of the play, between Arthur and Franco, is also not without its formulaic aspects. Mr. Letts's depiction of this budding cross-racial, cross-generational friendship feels a little retrograde, as both Arthur and Franco reveal dimensions that confound each other but help ease the awkwardness between them... But Mr. Letts treads gently, underplaying the surrogate-son aspect of their dynamic." [7]
Jon Michael Hill was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his work in this play.
In January 2016, CBS ordered a television pilot based on the play, with Bob Daily as the showrunner. [8] On February 9, 2016, it was reported that Jermaine Fowler would play Franco. [9] On March 1, 2016, Brian d'Arcy James was cast as Arthur. [10] On May 26, 2016, CBS ordered the series to be re-piloted for a mid-season premiere. [11]
In September 2016, CBS ordered the TV series, which debuted on February 2, 2017. Judd Hirsch played the role of the shop owner. Other cast members include Jermaine Fowler, Katey Sagal, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani, Anna Baryshnikov, Darien Sills-Evans, and Rell Battle. [12] On May 12, 2018, the series was cancelled after 2 seasons. [13]
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in Laverne & Shirley, David St. Hubbins in This Is Spinal Tap, and Chuck McGill on Better Call Saul.
Laura Elizabeth Metcalf is an American actress and comedian. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning more than four decades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.
Will Eno is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, Thom Pain was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play The Realistic Joneses appeared on Broadway in 2014, where it received a Drama Desk Special Award and was named Best Play on Broadway by USA Today, and best American play of 2014 by The Guardian. His play The Open House was presented Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in 2014 and won the Obie Award for Playwriting as well as other awards, and was on both TIME Magazine and Time Out New York 's Top Ten Plays of 2014.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on Halsted Street. The theatre's name comes from Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, which original member Rick Argosh was reading during the company's inaugural production of Paul Zindel's play, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, in 1974. After occupying several theatres in Chicago, in 1991, it moved into its own purpose-built complex with three performing spaces, the largest seating 550.
Carrie Preston is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Arlene Fowler in the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood (2008–2014) and as Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife (2010–2016), the Paramount+ legal drama spinoff series The Good Fight (2017–2022), and crime drama spinoff series Elsbeth (2024–present), also on CBS. For her work on The Good Wife, Preston received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek the Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and The Baker in Into the Woods. He has received five Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.
Tracy S. Letts is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for August: Osage County (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013).
Anna Davida Shapiro is an American theater director, was the artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theater Company, and a professor at Northwestern University. Throughout her career, she has directed both the Steppenwolf Theater Company production of August: Osage County (2007) along with its Broadway debut (2008-2009), the Broadway debuts of The Motherfucker with the Hat (2011) and Fish in the Dark (2014), and Broadway revivals of This Is Our Youth and Of Mice and Men, both in 2014. She won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for her direction of August: Osage County.
Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Amy Morton is an American actress and director, best known for her work in theatre. Morton was nominated two times for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performances in August: Osage County and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. On screen, she is known for her performances in films Rookie of the Year (1993), Up in the Air (2009), The Dilemma (2011) and Bluebird (2013). Since 2014, Morton began starring as Sergeant Trudy Platt in the NBC drama series Chicago P.D.
David Cromer is an American theatre director, and stage, film, and TV actor. He has received recognition for his work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including winning the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town. He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of The Adding Machine. In 2018, Cromer won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Band's Visit.
Jama Williamson is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, A. R. Gurney's Sylvia and Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louis. She also appeared in Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, an off-Broadway musical adaptation of the pornographic film Debbie Does Dallas, and she is featured in the show's original cast recording soundtrack.
Krysta Anne Rodriguez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Ana Vargas in the NBC series Smash, Summer Henderson in the NBC series Trial & Error, Maxine Griffin in the ABC series Quantico and Ms. Crumble in the Netflix comedy series Daybreak.
Jon Michael Hill is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Marcus Bell in the CBS series Elementary (2012–2019) and Detective Damon Washington in the ABC series Detroit 1-8-7 (2010–2011).
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Carrie Alexandra Coon is an American actress. On television, she has starred as Nora Durst in the HBO drama series The Leftovers (2014–2017) and as Gloria Burgle in the third season of the FX anthology series Fargo (2017). She won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress for The Leftovers and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for Fargo. She also starred in the second season of the anthology drama series The Sinner (2018), and has played aspiring socialite Bertha Russell in the HBO series The Gilded Age since 2022. For the latter, she has received another Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress.
Superior Donuts is an American sitcom television series based on the play of the same name by Tracy Letts that aired on CBS from February 2, 2017, to May 14, 2018. It was produced by Daily Productions, Goldman-Donovan Productions and Teitelbaum Artists, in association with CBS Television Studios. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan served as showrunners.
Anna Katerina Baryshnikova is an American actress. Following her film debut in Wiener-Dog (2016), Baryshnikov had supporting roles in films such as Manchester by the Sea (2016), The Kindergarten Teacher (2018), and Love Lies Bleeding (2024). She is best known for her lead roles as Maya on the first season of the CBS sitcom series Superior Donuts (2017) and Lavinia Norcross Dickinson on the Apple TV+ comedy drama series Dickinson (2019–21).
Jermaine Fowler is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as King Akeem Joffer's long-lost son Prince Lavelle Junson in the 2021 romantic comedy film Coming 2 America, and Franco Wicks on the CBS sitcom television series Superior Donuts.
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