Although Stick Fly marked her Main Stem debut, the 25-year-old actress has Broadway in her blood: She’s the daughter of Tony winner Phylicia Rashad. Audiences who saw the younger Rashad play a Congolese rape victim in Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined Off Broadway a few seasons back already knew she was a powerhouse, and she was certainly the highlight of the short-lived Stick Fly, Lydia R. Diamond’s plodding family drama about a well-to-do African-American clan. As college-bound Cheryl, the sharp but lower-class daughter of the ailing family maid, Rashad brilliantly embodied her character’s class and loyalty conflicts.
Up next: After a brief run on Smash, she’s shooting the all-black TV remake of Steel Magnolias alongside her famous mom.
In between the movie stars (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cynthia Nixon) and theater vets (Linda Lavin, Danny Burstein) are a handful of Tony nominees that may make you ask, who’s that? But these five impressive young actors—four of whom made their Broadway debuts this season—delivered performances that promise future stage greatness…assuming Hollywood doesn’t steal ‘em.
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