This image shows Count Sovall, foreground left, and John L. Payne, foreground right, with the cast during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Burnadair Lipscomb-Hunt during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Count Sovall, seated left, and John L. Payne, seated right, with the cast during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Count Sovall, left, and John L. Payne during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Count Sovall, left, and John L. Payne during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Count Sovall, center, with the cast during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)
This image shows Leland Gantt as Dred Scott during a performance of "American Rot," playing through March 31 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre in New York. (Steven Pisano/Sam Rudy Public Relations via AP)