Je' Caryous Johnson (born May 26, 1977) is an American stage and film producer, author, playwright and director known for his Off-Broadway stage productions in the urban theater circuit. He is also known for his work of adapting stage plays from various classic urban novels from authors such as Michael Baisden's books Men Cry in the Dark (2002) and Maintenance Man (2003) and Eric Jerome Dickey's book Friends and Lovers (2004) as well as films such as Two Can Play That Game (2017), Set It Off (2018) and New Jack City (2022). Johnson is the author of the urban fiction novel Men, Money and Gold Diggers and is a four-time national championship playwright and became the honoree recipient of the NAACP Trailblazer Award in 2007.^[1] Je'Caryous has also been acknowledged as the first producer to adapt an African-American romance novel into a stage theater production.

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Je'Caryous Johnson was born May 26, 1977, in Houston, Texas in the Northwest Houston's Studewood neighborhood. He attended the James D. Burrus Magnet School for Fine Arts studying theater. He was the winner of multiple nationwide playwriting contests, including one that gained him a first place medal for playwriting about the Harlem Renaissance at the National History Day playwriting competition held at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C in 1996.^[2]

Johnson attended Prairie View A&M University, and later enrolled at the University of Houston, where he majored in theater and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.^[3]

As a resident of Hollywood, California upon graduating college, Johnson's became theatrically trained by August Wilson, Edward Albee and Jose Quintero.^[4] He later moved back to Texas in 1998 and invested, developed and founded his own theatrical company with his uncle Gary Guidry in 1995 called I'm Ready Productions. In 2002 he collaborated with urban novelist Michael Baisden to adapt his novel Men Cry in the Dark into a stage play. After its success, hoping to make Houston the new 'Hollywood',^[5] he began to adapt more urban novels into a stage production including the romance novel Friends and Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey.^[6]

In 2007, Johnson and Gary became the recipients of The NAACP Trailblazer Award, given to individuals in the entertainment industry, whose outstanding theatrical contributions paved the way for future actors, playwrights and producers, following the honorees such as stage producer and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who was awarded before him in 2006 and precedes David E. Talbert, who was awarded in 2008.

Many of Johnson's stage productions feature repeat cast actors similar to the likes of Spike Lee and Tyler Perry-esque casting style, where they repeatedly use the same actors in multiple films and productions. He consistently cast Vivica A. Fox, Billy Dee Williams, Allen Payne, Tichina Arnold, Leon, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Carl Anthony Payne II, Brian McKnight, Brian White and Shirley Murdock, who appeared in his productions more than twice.

Majority of Johnsons' live tapings of the stage productions as well as his independent films were released and made for direct to video DVD and available for video on demand streaming, as with Tyler Perry had accomplished with his productions, stamping his trademark name before the title of the play or film. (I.E.: Je'Caryous Johnson presents...) His production company would later be renamed to Je'Caryous Johnson Entertainment, where new projects such as comedy showcases and music concerts would add to the roster of the shows he began to produce and tour nationally. He continues to leave the legacy of the former production name I'm Ready Productions as part of his charitable organization for the performing arts revamped as the I'm Ready Foundation.

In the late 2010s he started adapting classic urban films into live stage adaptations. In 2017, he adapted the 2001 film Two Can Play That Game and cast Vivica A. Fox to reprise her lead role as 'Shante Smith'.^[7][8][9] In 2018, Johnson began to collaborate with Warner Bros. Theater Ventures to produce live-action stage adaptations of urban films from their vault, starting with the 1996 cult film Set It Off, casting Da Brat, Kyla Pratt, LeToya Luckett and Demetria McKinney for the first production run.^[10] The play returned by popular demand in 2020/2021 with Da Brat returning as 'Cleo' along with a new cast lineup. Je'Caryous continued to collaborate with Warner Bros. again in 2022 with the live-action stage adaptation of 1991 cult classic film New Jack City, which he cast Allen Payne to reprise his role as 'Gee Money', along with Treach as 'Nino Brown' with Big Daddy Kane, Flex Alexander and Gary Dourdan who also stars in the production^[11]

In 2019, Matthew Knowles, creator of the successful Grammy Award winning pop group Destiny's Child, initially collaborated with Johnson to develop a Broadway stage musical titled Survivor: The Destiny's Child Musical, which would chronicle the groups' rise to fame journey. The pair had ideas of making its debut in London West End as well as a national and overseas tour.^[12][13] The show was alleged to make its debut in 2020, however was placed on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14]

Johnson is currently in development of various theatrical productions slated to tour. He partnered with Marvin Gaye III to write and produce a Broadway Musical titled Marvin Gaye: The Musical, which chronicles the life and times of Marvin Gaye, which was slated to open sometime in 2023, but since been delayed^[15] also an live-action stage adaptation of the 1997 comedy film B.A.P.S.^[16] which has also been delayed. However, in early 2024, Johnson's production of New Jack City returned on tour by popular demand casting Omar Gooding in the role of Stone. In February it was announced that Johnson, along with the daughter of Rick James, Ty James has launched a nationwide tour of the musical production of Super Freak: The Rick James Story, which will commence in the spring of 2024.^[17]

Je'Caryous Johnson married Meaghan Chrystal Roberts, a licensed entertainment attorney in California on November 15, 2014.^[18] They have three children. He and his wife developed the Je'Caryous Johnson's: I'm Ready Foundation, which is an organization dedicated to teach and change people for the good through the arts.^[19] They both, along with his mother Manon Roberts, serve as the Board of Directors.

• Men, Money and Gold Diggers Grand Central Publishing, ISBN 978-0-4465531-4-8
• I'm a Good Man, You're a Good Woman … Why Can't We Find Each Other I'm Ready Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9787301-9-2

NAACP Theatre Award/NAACP Image Awards