Photo Flash: First Look at Zainab Jah and More in VENUS at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre presents Venus, written by Residency One playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Obie Award-winner Lear deBessonet. BroadwayWorld has a first look at Zainab Jah and company onstage below!

The cast includes Hannah Cabell (The Father), Tony Award nominee John Ellison Conlee(The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence), Obie Award winner Randy Danson (Love and Information), Adam Green (The Winter's Tale), Birgit Huppuch (The Moors), Obie Award-winner Zainab Jah (Eclipsed), Kevin Mambo (The Color Purple), Patrena Murray(Signature's The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead), Reynaldo Piniella (Signature's The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead), Julian Rozzell (Signature's The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead), and Tony Torn (Latter Days).

The creative team includes Matt Saunders (Scenic Design), Emilio Sosa (Costume Design), Justin Townsend (Lighting Design), Brandon Wolcott (Sound Design and Original Music), Danny Mefford (Choreographer), Thomas Schall (Fight Director). Evangeline Whitlock is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Karyn Casl, CSA.

Venus is the second show in Parks' Signature residency, following the critically acclaimed, twice-extended production of The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, this past fall.

Traveling from her home in southern Africa for what she hoped would be a better life, Saartjie Baartman became an unfortunate star on the 19th Century London freak show circuit. This Obie Award-winning play gives vibrant life to the story of Baartman's journey to London, her rise to fame as the "Hottentot Venus," and her eventual relationship with a French scientist. Inspired by the true story of Baartman, Venus is a tragic-carnival, an intense and devastating journey honoring the life of Baartman and examining the way we live and love today.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Zainab Jah and the cast of Venus
Zainab Jah and the cast of Venus
Zainab Jah
The cast of Venus
John Ellison Conlee and Zainab Jah
Zainab Jah
Kevin Mambo
Tony Torn (center) and the cast of Venus
The cast of Venus
Zainab Jah and John Ellison Conlee