Off-Broadway Play to Honor Vegan Activist Dick Gregory

Legendary comic and long-time vegan Dick Gregory will be the subject of a new off-Broadway play opening in New York City this spring. “Turn Me Loose,” co-produced and presented by Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend, will profile the 83-year-old’s career as “the first Black comedian to expose white audiences to comedy confronting racial issues” and his struggle between the pressures of fame and the desire to join the activism of the Civil Rights Movement. Gregory, a raw vegan known for his two-year fruit juice fast in protest of the Vietnam War, has had his comedy stylings recognized by President Barack Obama, iconic comic Richard Pryor, and has inspired the likes of vegan figureheads such as author Tracye McQuirter and Black Vegans Rock founder Aph Ko. “Turn Me Loose” runs from May 3 to July 3 at New York City’s Westside Theatre, with tickets available now.