EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Callender, best known for starring in Power and Wu-Tang: An American Saga, is taking his Spades: The Play on a national tour.

The stage play is set to run 76 performances across Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and Miami this fall, following a four-week debut run in Harlem last November.

“I consider Spades: The Play a love letter to us and to the culture. I spent ten years writing this play, with love, care and intention poured into every word,” the director and playwright says. “Taking it on tour and bringing it directly to the people is exactly what it was created for.”

He continued, “Great theater doesn’t have to exist within the walls of traditional confines — it comes from raw storytelling and relatable experiences that can live anywhere. I had the exciting opportunity to shape what theater looks and feels like for the culture, on our own terms and to me, that’s the future of theater.”

Set in 2013 Harlem, and based on true events in Callender’s life, Spades: The Play follows a close-knit group of twenty-somethings as they gather for their weekly spades game at a friend’s house. As the cards are dealt, playful banter turns to honest conversation about love, friendship, and the blurred lines between the two. The production stars Broderick Clavery (Extrapolations) as “Gill” and Akilah A. Walker (The Chi) as “Cori,” with Derrick Alexander as “Andre” and Erin Nicole Washington as “Nefertiti.”

The tour kicks off with an exclusive one-night-only performance at the historic Studio Museum in Harlem on September 3.

Each stop on the tour is hosted at a culturally centric venue. The run includes Culture House DC, a former Black church dating to the 1800s; Cam Kirk Studios in Atlanta; Wendy Raquel Robinson’s Amazing Grace Conservatory in Los Angeles; and Fire House Loft in New Orleans. It closes in Miami during Art Basel.

Spades: The Play Tour Dates

September 9-20: Washington, D.C. (Culture House DC)

September 23-October 18: Los Angeles, California (Amazing Grace Conservatory)

October 21-November 15: Atlanta, Georgia (Cam Kirk Studios)

November 18-29: New Orleans, Louisiana (Fire House Loft)

December 2-6: Miami, Florida

Tickets are available exclusively through Posh.

Melissa McCarthy is getting into the holiday spirit with Margie Claus.

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation announced Thursday that director Kirk DeMicco’s animated feature will hit theaters Nov. 12, 2027, shifting a week later than its previous release date. The studio also announced that Jim Gaffigan will voice Santa, while Andrew Scott is set as Jack Frost. Annie Mumolo, Georgette Falcone, Octavia Spencer, Gary Farmer, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Cedric Yarbrough and Maria Bakalova also join the film alongside previously announced castmembers McCarthy and Cole Escola.

Margie Claus centers on McCarthy as Santa’s loving wife, who must venture to the dangerous South Pole to rescue her husband and save Christmas.

Also hitting theaters that weekend is Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow starring Daisy Edgar-Jones. With shifting back a week, Margie Claus will no longer go head-to-head with Olivia Wilde’s holiday comedy Naughty starring Jennifer Aniston and Peter Dinklage, which Universal releases in theaters Nov. 7, 2027.

DeMicco helms Margie Claus from a script by Ben Falcone and Damon Jones. Meghan Trainor will write and produce original songs, as will Falcone and Jones. Producers for Margie Claus include McCarthy and Falcone for On the Day Productions, alongside Michelle L.M. Wong

“I love Christmas so much, and so does Margie Claus,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Our story is about showing up for the people you love the most at the holidays, and it’s a reminder that you don’t have to be perfect to be lovable. It’s been so special to make this movie with Ben, Kirk, Michelle, Damon and are you kidding me? We got Meghan Trainor, Chef’s kiss! Ben and I can’t wait to get on our sleigh next November and throw Christmas cookie and ugly sweater parties at theaters across the globe. We’ve always wanted to tour the amazing movie theaters all over the world, and this is the perfect way to do it. We can’t wait to see you there! Ho Ho Ho!!”