Ava DuVernay’s ‘Caste’ film to star Audra McDonald, Myles Frost

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 06: Audra McDonald attends the 2022 Black Women on Broadway awards celebration at Empire Hotel Rooftop on June 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images)

Tony Award-winning actors Audra McDonald and Myles Frost have officially joined Ava DuVernay’s next feature, “Caste.”

Audra McDonald attends the 2022 Black Women on Broadway awards celebration at Empire Hotel Rooftop on June 6, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images)

The project, currently shooting in Georgia, is based on the non-fiction book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent” by Isabel Wilkerson per The Hollywood Reporter. McDonald and Frost’s roles are under wraps for now, but the film, written and adapted by DuVernay, is set to explore how the caste system of hierarchy has “shaped America” throughout history.

McDonald, fresh off her acclaimed performance in “Ohio State Murders” on Broadway, is a six-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer, known for her work in the theater and roles on-screen in shows like “The Good Fight” and “Private Practice.”

Frost recently took home the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his turn as Michael Jackson in “MJ The Musical.” The actor also received a Grammy nomination for his work on the cast recording of the popular musical.

Myles Frost poses in the press room during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Aunjanue Ellis, known for her Oscar-nominated performance in “King Richard” and roles in “Lovecraft Country,” “When They See Us” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” was cast as the lead of the film earlier this year. Niecy Nash and Jasmine Cephas Jones fill out the ensemble of the film, alongside Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Connie Nielsen and Jon Bernthal.

As theGrio previously reported, DuVernay’s adaptation of the New York Times best-selling book was first announced in 2020. The description of the film from the official announcement reads: “Through a multiple-story structure, Caste examines the unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how our lives today are defined by a hierarchy of human divisions dating back generations.”

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