Neighbors

play by Jacobs-Jenkins

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July 22, 2026

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Neighbors is a play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins that premiered in 2010. The play features a Black family, the Crows, who move into a suburban neighborhood. They are adorned in blackface and move next door to an interracial couple and their daughter. The play explores themes of race and identity, reflecting Jacobs-Jenkins's interest in minstrelsy and its historical context. The production generated significant attention, with some audience members walking out, and it received a critical review from The New York Times.12

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Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
First plays
…New York staged Jacobs-Jenkins’s play Neighbors, in which the Crows, a Black family adorned in blackface, move to the suburbs next door to an interracial couple and their daughter. The play reflected Jacobs-Jenkins’s interest in minstrelsy and became a cause célèbre; The New York Times interviewed attendees who walked out…
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…New York staged Jacobs-Jenkins’s play Neighbors, in which the Crows, a Black family adorned in blackface, move to the suburbs next door to an interracial couple and their daughter. The play reflected Jacobs-Jenkins’s interest in minstrelsy and became a cause célèbre; The New York Times interviewed attendees who walked out…
Read More