#Nicole Wiegert

[larryland]

HARTFORD, CT — January 22, 2019 — Hartford Stage announced today the cast and creative team for Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67. The powerful drama, produced in association with the McCarter Theatre Center, will perform at Hartford Stage Thursday, February 14, through Sunday, March 10.

Jade King Carroll, who previously helmed Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Hartford Stage, will direct. The cast from the McCarter Detroit ’67production will reprise their roles at Hartford Stage.

Detroit ’67 unfolds during an explosive moment in United States history — the civil and racial unrest that tore the city of Detroit apart. The play centers around Chelle and her brother, Lank, who make ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours party. When a mysterious woman makes her way into the siblings’ lives, they clash over much more than the family business.

“Acclaimed director Jade King Carroll is returning to Hartford Stage for the third time to stage this great play by a contemporary master, Dominique Morisseau,” said Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage Artistic Director. “It is also wonderful to collaborate again with the McCarter Theatre Center, a company led for the past three decades by the incomparable Emily Mann.”

Dominique Morisseau is among 25 individuals nationwide to be named as a MacArthur Foundation 2018 MacArthur Fellow (also known as the “Genius Grant”).  This prestigious fellowship is awarded to creative individuals – including writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers, and entrepreneurs – who exhibit extraordinary originality and dedication in their careers. Morisseau was selected as a MacArthur Fellow for her reputation as “a powerful storyteller whose examination of character and circumstance is a call for audiences to consider the actions and responsibilities of society more broadly. With a background as an actor and spoken-word poet, she uses lyrical dialogue to construct emotionally complex characters who exhibit humor, vulnerability, and fortitude as they cope with sometimes desperate circumstances.”

Detroit ’67 is part of Morisseau’s “Detroit Project” trilogy, which includes Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew – plays focusing upon the complicated yet hopeful history of her hometown. The Huffington Post called Morisseau “a direct heir to Hansberry, Williams, and Wilson. You feel the pulse and vibrations of her characters.” Philadelphia Magazine raved of the McCarter Theatre Center production, “Detroit ’67 has heart and soul. The subject matter places it in the grand tradition of realistic American drama.” US 1 called the production “extraordinary – an impressive and involving production.”

Morisseau’s body of work includes Pipeline, Sunset Baby, Detroit ‘67, Paradise Blue, and Skeleton Crew. She will make her Broadway debut this spring as book writer for Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. Morisseau has had work commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre, the Hip Hop Theater Festival, the South Coast Repertory, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her plays have been staged at The Public Theater, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Atlantic Theater Company, among others.

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In addition to directing Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Hartford Stage, Jade King Carroll’s directorial credits include Trouble in Mind at Two River Theater and PlayMakers Repertory Company; The Whipping Man and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Portland Stage; Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth at The Playwrights Realm; Dominique Morisseau’s Sunset Baby at City Theatre Company; Seven Guitars, The Persians and Splittin’ the Raft at People’s Light and Theatre; and Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money at Atlantic Theatre Company.

The cast of Detroit ’67 includes Nyahale Allie (Seven Guitars, People’s Light and Theatre; Unspeakable, Apollo Theater) as Bunny; Will Cobbs (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Broadway; Autumn’s Harvest, The Public Theater) as Sly; Ginna Le Vine (Picnic, Transport Group Theatre Company; The New World , Bucks County Playhouse) as Caroline; Johnny Ramey (The Whipping Man, Baltimore Center Stage; The Liquid Plain, Signature Theatre) as Lank; and Myxolydia Tyler (The Mountaintop, Baltimore Center Stage and Vermont Rep; A Raisin in the Sun, Arkansas Repertory Theatre) as Chelle.

The creative team for Detroit ’67 includes Set Designer Riccardo Hernandez (Indecent, Broadway; Seascape, Hartford Stage) Costume Designer Dede M. Ayite (American Son and Fireflies, Broadway); Lighting Designer Nicole Pearce (Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre; Hello, From The Children of Planet Earth, The Playwrights Realm); Sound Designer Karin Graybash (Having Our Say: The Delany Sister’s First 100 Years, Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre; Intimate Apparel, McCarter Theatre Center); and Hair and Makeup Designer Leah J. Loukas (Sweat and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Broadway).

Heather Klein (She Has a Name, Off-Broadway; Well Intentioned White People, Barrington Stage Company) will serve as Production Stage Manager, with Nicole Wiegert (Henry V and A Lesson from Aloes, Hartford Stage) as Assistant Stage Manager.

Sponsors

The Executive Sponsor for Detroit ’67 is Travelers.

The Lead Sponsor is Robinson+Cole.

Individual Producers are Rick & Beth Costello.

The Assisting Production Sponsor is Eversource Energy.

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, February 14

Opening Night: 8 p.m., Friday, February 22

Closes: 2 p.m., Sunday, March 10

Tickets & Performances

Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun at 7:30 p.m.—Fri, Sat at 8 p.m.—Sat, Sun at 2 p.m.

Wed matinee at 2 p.m. on March 6 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 860-527-5151.

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

Special Events

HPL @ Hartford Stage. Hartford Public Library and Hartford Stage invite you to dig deeper into the world of the plays onstage. Check out a book today! Select books available at the theatre and at each Hartford branch library.

Sunday Afternoon Discussion, February 24. Enjoy a discussion with artists and scholars connected with the production immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee. Free

AfterWords Discussion—Tuesday, February 26 and Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6. 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, March 3, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. For patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss — free service with admission.

Audio Described Performance—Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m. For patrons who are blind or have low vision — free service with admission.

About Hartford Stage

Now in our 55th season, Hartford Stage is currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak. In January 2019, Melia Bensussen was named the sixth Artistic Director of Hartford Stage and will assume the role in June. 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 Cast and Creative Team for Dominique Morisseau’s “Detroit ’67” HARTFORD, CT — January 22, 2019 — Hartford Stage announced today the cast and creative team for Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67.

[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.