Following eight sold-out performances across two Los Angeles runs, Todd Anthony’s multimedia one-man production RED comes to Philadelphia for a two-night engagement at the Independence Seaport Museum on July 10 and 11. Todd Anthony wrote it, performs it, and grew up in Philadelphia. His director, Emmy-nominated actress Crystal Lee Brown, grew up in Philadelphia. So did producer Lena Anthony. This is a homecoming by every definition.

What Todd Anthony’s RED Is

RED traces the life of Malcolm Little — known as “Detroit Red” — from 1942 through his release from prison, before he became Malcolm X. The production covers his years in Boston and Harlem, his incarceration, his early encounters with the Nation of Islam, and the slow internal collision between the life he had been living and the purpose he was beginning to find. Todd Anthony blends live performance with film sequences shot for the production — so that characters he portrays in monologue have visual grounding when he returns to the stage, giving the audience images to hold alongside the live presence.

The production’s specific focus is deliberate. This is not the Malcolm X of public speeches and civil rights iconography. It’s the man who became him — younger, less certain, still being formed. Todd Anthony has described wanting to show the human side of Malcolm Little before the world built a monument out of him. On stage, Red and Malcolm coexist simultaneously, one wrestling the other into existence in real time in front of an audience.

Two Nights at the Independence Seaport Museum

Todd Anthony has spoken about what bringing RED to Philadelphia means to him — not just as a career milestone but as a debt to the city that shaped him as an artist, a man, and a youth pastor. Crystal Lee Brown, making her directorial debut with this production, carries the same relationship to the city. The Independence Seaport Museum, at 211 S. Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the Delaware River waterfront, is the venue for both performances.

Todd Anthony has asked audiences to come without preconceptions about who Malcolm X was, and to consider bringing younger people who may not have been taught his story — particularly the chapter before the speeches. Tickets are available at platform4purpose.co.

Philadelphia made Todd Anthony an artist. RED is what he made with it. Two nights only at the Independence Seaport Museum, July 10 and 11 — bring someone who knows the name Malcolm X and someone who only thinks they do.

Images: Courtesy of Todd Anthony

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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