UPDATE: The Code is playing at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London in September & October 2025, starring Tracie Bennett (Here We Are, Hairspray) as Tallulah Bankhead, John Partridge (EastEnders, Cats) as Billy Haines, Solomon Davy (Hairspray) as Chad Manford and Nick Blakeley (Underdog: The Other Brontë) as Henry Willson. READ MORE >

Two private industry readings of new play The Code by Michael McKeever are taking place in New York this month, directed by British director Christopher Renshaw (Taboo, Zorro).

The readings will feature West End and Broadway star Tracie Bennett (Here We Are, Hangmen, Follies) as Tallulah Bankhead, with Davi Santos (Mr. Parker, Trouble) as Chad Manford, Wesley Taylor (SpongeBob SquarePants, Rock of Ages) as Henry Willson, and Tuc Watkins (Boys in the Band, The Inheritance) as Billy Haines.

Michael McKeever’s credits include Daniel’s Husband and Mr. Parker.

The play’s official synopsis is: Welcome to The Code … It’s Hollywood 1950 and you are cordially invited to join Billy Haines, Henry Willson and Tallulah Bankhead for an evening of cocktails, caviar… and all-out war. Summer, 1950… Hollywood’s first openly gay movie star and celebrity interior designer Billy Haines is going to a dinner party at George Cukor’s. He invites a handful of friends to stop off for cocktails beforehand. Tallulah Bankhead, in LA for the weekend, is there with all of the baggage that makes her Tallulah Bankhead. When agent Henry Willson arrives with his newest protégé, Chad Manford, what starts off as a simple request turns into a heated debate on the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a man in the land of make-believe. With great humor and stinging insight, The Code examines the bigotries, self-deceptions, and unspoken codes – still relevant 70 years later – that defined and restrained the golden age of Hollywood.

The readings are presented by producer Jim Kierstead (Kinky Boots, Pippin, Hadestown, The Inheritance, The Lehman Trilogy, Company). He said in a statement:“I’ve always loved 1950s Hollywood and getting the opportunity to work with Michael, Chris, and this incredible ensemble of talented actors and share this story thrills me to no end.”

Tracie Bennett is currently starring in Stephen Sondheim’s last musical, Here We Are, which opened last month at The Shed’s Griffin Theater in New York, and is playing to 21 January 2024.

More about tickets to The Code at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London

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Main photo: The Code. Tracie Bennett

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