Zizka said that she and Orlandersmith "have worked on the script for three years and through four drafts." Productions Yellowman premiered Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on October 1, 2002 in previews and closed on December 15, 2002. Directed by Blanka Zizka the play featured Dael Orlandersmith (Alma) and Howard W. Overshown (Eugene). The play had engagements at several regional theatres prior to the Off-Broadway production, including the McCarter Theatre (January 10 to 27, 2002), Wilma Theatre (Philadelphia) (February 13 to March 17, 2002), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, Connecticut) (April 3 to May 12, 2002) and Seattle's ACT Theatre, in July to August 2002. In regional theater, Yellowman ran at the Next Theatre in Chicago, Illinois in April to May 2004. The play ran at Stage 773 in Chicago in September to October 2011. Awards and nominations The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2002. Orlandersmith won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Yellowman; the award includes a monetary award of $10,000. The Wilma Theatre production won Philadelphia Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play (for Orlandersmith). The play was nominated for 2003 Drama Desk Awards for Best Play, Outstanding Lighting Design, (Russell H. Champa) and Outstanding Actress in a Play (Dael Orlandersmith). Critical response The CurtainUp reviewer of the Philadelphia and McCarter productions wrote: "The characters and situations are carefully delineated, with repetition and a building up of evidence. There are big time generational issues: the remove, the attachment, the racial hatreds, the resentment, the traits handed down, the turning into your mother... This is a wonderful play." References Orlandersmith, Dael, and Alexander Street Press. Yellowman. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2004. Notes External links American plays African-American plays Plays about race and ethnicity Plays set in South Carolina Plays set in New York City 2002 plays