#Felicity Jones Latta

[larryland]

HARTFORD, CT — September 17, 2018 — Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for Henry V, which will be performed Thursday, October 11, through Sunday, November 11. Stephen Louis Grush portrays the English king.

Henry V will be the first Shakespeare production, and the second play overall, in Hartford Stage’s 55-year history to be staged in the round. In addition to Grush, the ensemble cast – comprised of half men and half women – features Karen Aldridge as Exeter, Miles Anderson as Pistol, Kate Forbes as the Constable of France and Burgundy, Peter Francis James as the Chorus and Sir Thomas Erpingham, Felicity Jones Latta as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Nym and Alice, and Baron Vaughn as Fluellen and Mistress Quickly. Hartford Stage Associate Artistic Director Elizabeth Williamson will helm the production, which marks her Shakespeare directorial debut for the Tony Award-winning theatre.

“Elizabeth Williamson has assembled a splendid company of actors and designers for her provocative and innovative staging of a Shakespeare masterpiece,” Tresnjak said.

In Henry V, shortly after gaining the throne, Henry must decide whether or not to embark on a war that could solidify his reign—or bring his country to its knees. In France, he grows up fast under the pressure to use all means necessary to win a war against tremendous odds. But even if he finds victory, how easy will it be to settle the peace?

Williamson previously directed the world premiere of Seder, by Sarah Gancher, and Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 at Hartford Stage. A dramaturg as well as a director, her credits include Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance, which is transferring to London’s West End this fall, and the Hartford Stage world premieres of the Tony Award-winning musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case; Matthew Lopez’s Reverberation; Christopher Shinn’s An Opening in Time; Bess Wohl’s Make Believe; and the new musical Anastasia, currently on Broadway. She has served as dramaturg for many Shakespeare productions, including Hartford Stage’s Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Williamson has also worked with the American Conservatory Theater, HERE, La Jolla Playhouse, Pioneer Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and many others.

Stephen Louis Grush (Long Day’s Journey into Night, Geffen Playhouse; Sex with Strangers, Geffen Playhouse and Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Romeo & Juliet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater) will make his Hartford Stage debut as Henry. Grush is joined by Karen Aldridge (Matilda the Musical, Broadway; Le Costume, The International Centre for Theatre Research; Twelfth Night, Chicago Shakespeare Theater) as Exeter; Miles Anderson (Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company; Oliver!, West End; Heartbreak House, Hartford Stage) as Pistol; Liam Craig (Boeing Boeing, Broadway; Seder, Hartford Stage; The Tempest, Shakespeare Theatre Company) as the French Ambassador, Bardolph, and Gower; Kate Forbes(Macbeth, Broadway; The Merchant of Venice, TFANA/Royal Shakespeare Company; Hamlet, Hartford Stage) as the Constable of France and Burgundy; Peter Francis James (On Golden Pond, Broadway; Much Ado About Nothing, The Public Theater; The Maids, Classic Stage Company) as the Chorus and Sir Thomas Erpingham; Felicity Jones Latta (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, National Tour; Metamorphoses, Broadway; Cymbeline,Hartford Stage) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Nym, and Alice; Anthony Michael Lopez (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, National Tour; Othello, New York Theatre Workshop; The Penalty, The Public Theater) as the Dauphin and MacMorris; Nafeesa Monroe (Hello Herman, Pioneer Theatre Company; Proof, Quick Silver Theater Company and CiC Theater; Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare & Company) as the King of France, le Fer, and Bates; Jamie Rezanour (Queens for a Year, Hartford Stage; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Classical Theatre of Harlem; Our Town, Milwaukee Repertory Theater) as Montjoy, Orleans and Cambridge; Evelyn Spahr (Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, New York Theatre Workshop; Uncle Vanya, Harold Clurman Laboratory; Remarkably Normal, National Tour) as Katherine and Boy; and Baron Vaughn (Damn Yankees, New York City Center; Drowning Crow, Manhattan Theatre Club; Grace and Frankie, Netflix) as Fluellen and Mistress Quickly.

Mark Lawrence, Haley Tyson, and Reid Williams, students at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, have been cast in the Ensemble.

In addition to Williamson, the creative team includes Set Designer Nick Vaughan (Seder and Cloud 9 at Hartford Stage); Costume Designer Beth Goldenberg (Queens for a Year, Hartford Stage; Engagements, Second Stage Theater); Lighting Designer Stephen Strawbridge (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hartford Stage; Passion Play, Yale Repertory Theatre); Sound Designer Matt Hubbs (Indecent, Broadway; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, American Repertory Theater); Composer/Original Music by Christian Frederickson(Sound design for The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Hartford Stage; Composer, Trojan Women (After Euripedes), SITI Company). Yan Chen, Hartford Stage Artistic Apprentice, will serve as Dramaturg.

Robyn M. Zalewski (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Lesson from Aloes at Hartford Stage) will serve as Production Stage Manager, with Nicole Wiegert as Assistant Stage Manager (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Lesson from Aloes at Hartford Stage).

Miles Anderson

Stephen Louis Grush

Baron Vaughn

Evelyn Spahr

Jamie Rezanour

Nafeesa Monroe

Anthony Michael Lopez

Felicity Jones Latta

Peter Francis James

Kate Forbes

Liam Craig

Karen Aldridge

Sponsors

Henry V is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national theatre program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

The Executive Sponsor is The John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.

The Assisting Production Sponsors are Federman, Lally & Remisand Hinckley Allen LLP.

The 2018/19 Season is also sponsored by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Special Dates

Previews begin at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 11 Opening Night: 8 p.m., Friday, October 19 Closes: 2 p.m., Sunday, November 11

Tickets & Performances

Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun at 7:30 pm—Fri, Sat at 8 pm—Sat, Sun at 2 pm Wed matinee at 2 pm on October 24 only. Weekly schedules vary. For details, visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Tickets for all shows start at $25. Student tickets: $18.

For group discounts (10 or more), email groupsales@hartfordstage.org or call 860-520-7125.

For all other tickets, please call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Special Events

Sunday Afternoon Discussion, October 21. Enjoy a lecture from artists and scholars connected with the production immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee. Free

AfterWords Discussion—Tuesday, October 23; Wednesday, October 24; and Tuesday, October 30. Join members of the cast and our Artistic staff for a free discussion, immediately following select 7:30 p.m. performances on Tuesday or the 2 p.m. Wednesday matinee.

Open Captioned Performances—Sunday, October 28, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. For patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss — free service with admission.

Audio Described Performance—Saturday, November 3, 2 p.m. For patrons who are blind or have low vision — free service with admission.

HARTFORD STAGE

Now in our 55th season, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 21,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans’ Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger’s Children; and Tea at Five.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.

Hartford Stage Announces Casting for “Henry V” HARTFORD, CT — September 17, 2018 — Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for Henry V, which will be performed Thursday, October 11, through Sunday, November 11. 

[brothermarc7theatre]

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" show #648

The Tony-winning play from the 2014-2015 Broadway season, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, is on tour and currently barking at the Golden Gate Theater. Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel took home several awards, and for reasons that are obvious once you see the play; the award-winning lighting, scenic/video design, and Marianne Elliot’s breathtaking staging enhance Mr. Stephens’ text with the visual and auditory stimuli. Pair those elements with wonderful casting and The Curious Incident… is set up to be a compelling look into the life of Christopher Boone, a high schooler with autism who simply wants to solve a mystery, but has several life changing revelations along the way.

(Adam Langdon (Christopher); Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Adam Langdon’s performance as Christopher is one that has a well of understanding and charisma to it, but never truly goes beyond portrayal rather than embodiment, or what is more necessary for the role, simply being. Because of the sensitivity of the material and the strength of the script the role of Christopher is one that leads this intimate cast nearly all show long, developing and revisiting relationships with parents, neighbors, and complete strangers. Most of Mr. Langdon’s deliveries sacrifice compelling dramatics for comedic levity, diluting the true impact Mr. Langdon’s otherwise very capable consistencies as a physical actor and timing could make brilliant. Playing Christopher’s counselor/voice of reason is Maria Elena Ramirez as Siobhan. Miss Ramirez’s soothing tone matches her stage presence, filling the theater with a warmth that embraces the frustrated, motivated, or excited Christopher with caring monologues, since the physical touch is absent from most of Christopher’s interactions.

The Boone parents are played by Gene Gillette as father, Ed, and Felicity Jones Latta as mother, Judy. While Mr. Gillette nails the rough and gruff tone Ed is written to be, his physicality undercuts the impact Ed’s erratic outbursts should carry. There are certain revelations and choices that the character encounters throughout the play, all of which should be surprises when they occur, but all of which are seen coming from a mile away in Mr. Gillette’s performance. Miss Latta has a motherly strength that draws a focused intent of love between her and Mr. Langdon’s performance. They share certain mannerisms and a temper that accents the mother/son connection immediately, making the journey they take together all the more truth-based. Miss Latta’s deliveries and interactions with Mr. Langdon are genuine, natural, and serve her standout performance all show long.

(L to R: Maria Elena Ramirez (Siobhan), Gene Gillette (Ed), Adam Langdon (Christopher); Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

Amelia White and John Hemphill deliver featured performances that round out the meat of the plot in fine fashion. Miss White’s gives a lovely, neighborly performance as Mrs. Alexander, whose short and sweet conversations with Christopher contain nuance, acting as opportunities for both Miss White and Mr. Langdon to dialogue in fully-realized encounters. When Mr. Hemphill dons the suit and tie as Roger Shears, his contributions in Act Two are met well opposite Mr. Langdon and Miss Latta, whether he is doing his damn near best to accept Christopher’s arrival into his life, or going on an intoxicated rampage, exposing the inner-demons Roger Shears has been rumored to have.  

The technical designs all convert nicely onto the Golden Gate Theater stage, showing the inner-workings of Christopher’s mind to the audience in an un-ignorable fashion that wraps them in to his world with no apologies or remorse. The text and direction are flawless in showcasing the story that Christopher Boone is telling and living on stage, and the technical achievements unanimously support them. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time will play the Golden Gate Theater through July 23rd. This is a play that can hit home for those who have encountered someone or who personally live with autism, while also being a theatrical education, for those who haven’t, as to how one form of autism can truly affect a person and family.