ABOUT
SAME DIFFERENCE
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY DON MAYS
Providence, 1993. A gang leader from Harlem arrives at his ex-girlfriend's apartment in the middle of the night — wounded, on the run, with nowhere else to go. What he doesn't know is that her roommate is gay, grieving, and not about to back down. Set against the twin epidemics of AIDS and drug violence, Don Mays's world premiere is a funny, fierce, and deeply human play about two men the world treated as disposable, who are certain they have nothing in common, and the woman standing between them who can see exactly who they both are.
This world premiere production of SAME DIFFERENCE is made possible with generous support from Peter Neivert, in honor of Arthur Richter and the Wilbury Theatre Group’s continued commitment to the development and presentation of new work.
CAST + CREATIVE TEAM
JāQuan
Malik Jones 
Alex
LeBlanc |
Rosalyn
Tavarez* 
Henry
Nwaru |
Alex
Crespo-Rosario II 
CarlinFournier
|
SAME DIFFERENCE
Written & Directed by Don Mays Set Design by Jason Sall Light + Sound Design by Andy Russ Costume Design by Dustin Thomas Fight Choreography by Brien Lang Intimacy Direction by Jackie Davis Production Management by Monica Shinn Stage Manager, Natalie Rosario* Asst. Stage Manager, Ollie Crowe Costume Assistant, Arianna Davey Production Photos by Erin X. Smithers Press / Media Inquiries: Niki Healy |
*Appears courtesy Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Don Mays is a playwright, filmmaker, director and photographer. With Wilbury Theatre Group, he has directed productions of The Comeuppance, Fat Ham, Silhouette of a Silhouette, Miss You Like Hell, Hype Man and the Webby Award-winning series God Talks to an Agnostic, which aired on Ocean State Media. Mays is a classically trained actor/director who studied at the National Shakespeare Conservatory, NYC. He's the founder of AFRI Film Productions, which produced the feature film, Same Difference. He also produced The Come to Jesus, a short film based on God Talks to an Agnostic.
Mays' directing credits include work at such theaters as the Providence Black Repertory Company, Wilbury Theatre Group, Brown University, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, Wheaton College, and Bristol Community College. In recognition of the fifth-year anniversary of the George Floyd murder, Mays recently curated a provocative photo exhibition at the WaterFire Art Center Gallery, entitled Mays Boyz Makin Noize, (a Father and Sons Exhibition). The exhibition included over eighty photographs with contributions from his sons, Zachary and Nicolas.
Mays' directing credits include work at such theaters as the Providence Black Repertory Company, Wilbury Theatre Group, Brown University, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, Wheaton College, and Bristol Community College. In recognition of the fifth-year anniversary of the George Floyd murder, Mays recently curated a provocative photo exhibition at the WaterFire Art Center Gallery, entitled Mays Boyz Makin Noize, (a Father and Sons Exhibition). The exhibition included over eighty photographs with contributions from his sons, Zachary and Nicolas.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE
2026/27 SEASON
Learn more about the 2026/27 Season at Providence's home for groundbreaking artists and adventurous audiences! The World Premiere of Same Difference by Don Mays, Regional Premieres of Seagulls by Beth Hyland and Teeth with book/music by Anna K. Jacobs and book/lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and the professional Rhode Island premieres of Grand Horizons by Tony Award winner Bess Wohl and The Antipodes by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker.
ABOUT
An award-winning, not-for-profit professional theatre company, the Wilbury Theatre Group engages our community in thought-provoking conversation through new works, reimagined classics and adventurous playmaking. We are idealistic, ambitious, and stubborn in our resolve to create theatre that entertains, enlightens, and inspires.
