Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels Visits Lawrence’s Rider U. As Play On Life Takes Shape

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Rider University in Lawrenceville recently had a very special guests on campus.

Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels recently visited the campus to participate in a read-through of a new stage play based on his life. The play is written by Prof. Sheena Howard from the University's communications department, who is also the author of a “Wonder Woman” and “Black Panther” comic.

The play dramatizes McDaniels’ rise out of Queens, New York, as a founding member of Run-DMC, as well as his quest to find his birth mother following revelations that he was adopted.

“Darryl has a story that is tumultuous but also inspiring because he came through it in the end as a healthy individual,” Howard said in a statement.

McDaniels interacted with a group of excited drama students, sharing anecdotes and insights from his life.

While the play takes his life as its basis, the themes transcend the particulars of his biography, McDaniels said.

“It’s about imagination, creativity, art, comic books, rock ’n’ roll, hip hop, identity, secrets and most importantly how our unfortunate situations don’t define us — we do,” McDaniels said. “It’s literally a superhero story.”

During the read-through Howard and McDaniels got an opportunity to hear the script read aloud by a cast for the first time and gain insight into the story and the ultimate production on stage.

Howard and McDaniels were joined by professional actors from Philadelphia and New York City as well as several students from Rider, including those in the University’s theatre program.

The read-through also helped McDaniels see the story from another perspective. “It’s more dynamic to see other people tell the story and live it,” he said in a media statement. “A lot of things I missed myself I can now get a realization of.”

McDaniels found success when Run-DMC released its debut album in 1984. The group shaped the look and sound of hip-hop that dominated American music for decades.

Despite his influence and success, McDaniels struggled with depression and substance abuse. He faced a personal challenge while working on his autobiography when he discovered that his origins as an adopted child had been kept hidden from him.

McDaniels’ quest to find his birth mother was captured by VH1 in a 2006 documentary. However, this play is the first time his story will be shown on stage.

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