How A24 brought the play central to ‘Sing Sing’ to life at the peak of awards season

On the same stage that debuted Jonathan Larson’s legacy-defining musical Rent, with reused costumes and a recreated mummy first crafted inside of a maximum security prison, a group of formerly incarcerated men put on a play.

The performance, a goofy-yet-empowering musical comedy called Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code, is unlikely to go on to win a Tony or inspire a hit like Rent. But it is already featured in the Oscar-nominated film Sing Sing, and the special performance might be one step towards helping the movie snag a win.

In Sing Sing, which is based on a true story, actor Colman Domingo and a cast of actors playing themselves put on the play during their incarceration at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. At the New York Theatre Workshop earlier this month, Sing Sing’s distributor A24 partnered with The Just Trust and Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) to bring Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code to life. Prior to the performance, it had only ever been staged inside Sing Sing’s walls.

The event is an unusual move from a studio during awards season, when many studios opt for for-your-consideration ads on LA billboards or full-page ads in trade publications, and sometimes host special screenings with panels featuring the film’s A-list talent. A24 and RTA’s presentation of Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code still brings the film to life in front of potential awards voters, but through a unique merging of live theater and film, it’s also aimed at bringing a piece of the film’s message to a wider audience.

“To have this kind of a platform to introduce people to so much humanity that they would not know exists behind these hidden walls is just such an amazing opportunity,” Karin Shiel, RTA board member and Sing Sing co-producer, told Marketing Brew. “Having more people meet these men is a really special thing.”

One night only

In total, about 400 people got to see the play over the course of two back-to-back performances. At the first show, which this reporter attended, there was a display of “joy, beauty, and community,” Ana Zamora, CEO and founder of event partner The Just Trust, told us. If it had been possible, the people behind the one-night-only show would have wanted to put it on for many more nights and audiences.

“We only had the theater for one night, and it happens to be a Monday, a dark night,” Shiel said. “We would love to have done more. But these men have day jobs and it's expensive, of course, to open a theater. So this is what we were able to do.”

The funds to rent out the theater, amongst other costs, came via the partnership with The Just Trust, a philanthropic intermediary organization that focuses on reforms to the justice system. By pooling money from donors and reallocating it as grants, the Just Trust works with more than 200 grantees as part of its mission, according to Zamora.

A24 and The Just Trust worked together for “the better part of a year” on expanding Sing Sing’s audience. While A24 handled the film’s distribution, Zamora said that The Just Trust helped arrange 54 screenings with a focus on areas where people might not typically gravitate to the title.

“What we need to do is expand [the] audience considerably and make sure that this film isn't yet another political cudgel, a thing to be weaponized by opponents,” Zamora told us.

Zamora said A24 approached The Just Trust for funding when it came time to put on Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code in New York, and the decision to become financially involved was a no-brainer.

“The opportunity to bring the play back to the stage and to give these men the chance to perform Off Broadway…there’s nothing else to say,” Zamora said. “I jumped at the opportunity.”

And the Oscar goes to…

At the New York Theatre Workshop, the first audience of the night contained the cast’s family and friends, Just Trust donors, some members of the media, and members of RTA’s community, including founder Katherine Vockins. The second audience, Zamora said, had entertainment industry folks and famous figures like Mariska Hargitay, along with the possibility of awards voters, who will ultimately decide if Sing Sing wins more awards.

The event’s timing, a month before the Oscars and a few weeks before the film became available on streaming, was “great,” according to Zamora.

“Both [audiences are] important,” Shiel said. “Because the more of these awards, the more people are going to see the film. And that’s our ultimate goal, that’s what we need, is for more people to see this. Not because of awards or money, but because we want to share this with the world.”

Evidence of the film’s awards circuit efforts, and the pride of the team, were sprinkled throughout the evening’s performance.

John Whitfield—also known as Divine G, the film’s executive producer and real-life inspiration for Domingo’s character—wore an A24 sweatshirt under his costume and after the performance. Camillo “Carmine” Lovacco approached the front of the stage and addressed the audience during a panel discussion following the performance to say, simply, “We filmed a movie two years ago called Sing Sing. We’re up for Academy Awards this year.” The crowd was immediately raucous with applause.

A24 faced some criticism from fans online who have voiced their disapproval over the way the studio campaigned for Sing Sing. Chief complaints include continued difficulty for fans trying to see the film in theaters, via rental, or streaming; a too-early summer theater release timing that left the film forgotten; and speculation that A24 is prioritizing The Brutalist during this awards season.

On the night of the performance, though, its cast and crew voiced their appreciation for how they were able to show off the film and its message.

“This thing that we created here is so magic,” Clarence Maclin, a BAFTA and Critic’s Choice-nominated supporting actor who has been dubbed the film’s “breakout star,” said during the panel. “It’s so powerful. It’s just reaching all across the whole planet. I'm glad y’all got a cool bit of it tonight.”