Cast & Crew Representing The African Diaspora Give Modern Take On Yoruba Spirituality At Here, NYC

Producer Vineyard Entertainment (a sole proprietorship) presents a New York showcase of FEAST: A Yoruba Project with a cast and crew from across the African Diaspora at the Dorothy B. Williams Theater at HERE, July 11 through July 14, 2019. The show will preview July 11th and open July 12th with an opening reception hosted by Taste of Africa USA. Following the 7pm show on July 13th, audience is invited to a "talkback" with cast and designers.

Yoruba spirituality is world renown. Leading the production as the iconic Yoruba orisas will be Yoruba-American actors Mutiyat Ade-Salu* (2016 Miss Black New York Coed) as Oya, Wunmi Fowora* as Osun and African-American actors Donovan Tyrone Woods* as Esu, and Mikayla Bartholomew* as Yemoja. Puerto-Rican American Daniel Lugo* plays multiple ensemble roles as the story travels through Nigeria, Brazil, Cuba, and England. (Bartholomew replaces actress Shiro Kihagi.)

First premiered at the Young Vic Theatre in 2013 and commissioned by The Royal Court Theatre in London, FEAST: A Yoruba Project was presented in 2016 as a staged reading at the Segal Center in New York City. That performance was in collaboration with Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre, a pioneer of incorporating Yoruba spirituality and aesthetics into American theatre. African-American director

Bianca LaVerne Jones, AUDELCO Award nominee and Masters graduate of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, will direct the 2019 New York showcase.

The creative team also includes African-American AUDELCO Award winners Antoinette Tynes (Lighting Design) and Bayo* (Stage Management), New Orleans-native and Afro-Cuban dance specialist Kelly S. White (Choreography), Guyanese-American and Parsons School of Design graduate Lashun Costor (Costume Design), and African-American Linwood Booker (Projection Design).

FEAST: A Yoruba Project was written under commission by playwrights Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria), Yunior García Aguilera (Cuba), Marcos Barbosa (Brazil), Tanya Barfield (United States), and Gbolahan Obisesan (United Kingdom). With 2019 marking the 400-year anniversary of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, this production is more relevant than ever before.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support at HERE.

FEAST is an Equity approved showcase. Actors and stage manager appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Tickets for FEAST: A Yoruba Project are on sale now. The Dorothy B. Williams Theatre and box office are located at HERE, 145 6th Ave., (Enter on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring). For Tickets & Information: visit www.here.org or call 212-352-3101. Tickets are $25 students and seniors, $30 general admission and $45 for VIP seats.

Learn more on the web at www.feastshow.com.