Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Frankie), an Academy Award-winning actress and Tony Award nominee, captured audiences with her breakout role opposite Eddie Murphy in “Dolemite Is My Name.” She most recently wrapped on Universal Pictures’ “Atlantis” and “Eternity” and is set to appear in Simon West’s “Bride Hard” and Lionsgate’s “Shadow Force.” Returning to Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” Randolph also starred in the acclaimed film “The Holdovers,” earning an Academy Award. Her diverse career spans roles in Netflix’s “Rustin,” HBO’s “The Idol,” and Paramount Players’ “On the Come Up.” A graduate of Yale School of Drama, Randolph continues to shine on stage and screen, showcasing her talents across dramas, comedies, and musicals.

Robert D. DoQui (Johnny) Hailing from a family of entertainers, Robert Diago DoQui has enjoyed a career spanning 30 years in film, television and theatre. DoQui’s most current credits are recurring roles in the Emmy nominated series “Blackbird” for Apple TV, “The Resident”, and “NCIS: New Orleans”. The cult classic film “Hatchet III” continues to bring fan recognition to DoQui for his role as Deputy Winslow. DoQui splits his time between Los Angeles and New Orleans where he was nominated for Best Actor in The Big Easy Entertainment Awards for his role as Earnest in the production of the same name. When DoQui is not performing as an actor he is Eddie Murphy’s stunt double. Blessed with three beautiful daughters, DoQui most enjoys his role as a father.

James Ijames (Director) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, director and educator. James’ plays have been produced on Broadway, off-Broadway and across the country by theatres including Orbiter 3, The National Black Theatre, The Public Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre. His awards and honors include the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist, the 2015 Pew Fellowship for Playwriting, the 2015 Terrence McNally New Play Award, the 2017 Whiting Award, the 2019 Kesselring Prize, the 2020 Steinberg Prize, and the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the Tony nominated Fat Ham. James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective.

Terrence McNally (Playwright) was an American playwright, librettist, and LGBTQ+ trailblazer, described by The New York Times as “the bard of the American Theater.” One of the few playwrights of his generation to successfully pass from the avant-garde to mainstream acclaim, Terrence redefined American playwriting for six decades and was the recipient of five Tony Awards (two for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class, two for the books to his musicals Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime, and the 2019 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement). He received the 2011 Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award (he was Vice President of the Guild from 1981 to 2001), the 2015 Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award, a 1996 induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame, and, in 2018, an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His other accolades include an Emmy Award (Andre’s Mother), two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie Awards, and three Hull-Warriner Awards. Terrence was an alumnus of Columbia University and received numerous honorary degrees, including from NYU and Juilliard, where he helped create the playwriting program in 1993. His legacy lives on in his plays, musicals, and operas that continue to be performed all over the world, as well as in his papers, which are kept and open to the public at the Harry Ransom Center in the University of Texas at Austin.

PTC mounted the world premieres of Master Class, Golden Age, Some Men, and Unusual Acts of Devotion, and the Philadelphia regional premieres of Love!Valour!Compassion!, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Mothers and Sons, and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. PTC’s Terrence McNally Award supports one Philadelphia-based, early-career playwright with financial resources and a public reading of their play at PTC.