Ian Belknap (Off-Broadway's X: or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation at The New Victory) will direct.
The Acting Company has announced the casting for their reading of The Shadow of a Gunman, written by Seán O'Casey (Juno and the Paycock, The Plough and the Stars). Ian Belknap (Off-Broadway's X: or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation at The New Victory) will direct.
Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, this is a tale of a young poet who lets the rumor that he is an IRA assassin run wild as he enjoys the mysterious allure this lends him in the eyes of his neighbors, including a young woman. Moving from the comedic to the tragic, this is one of O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy, exploring conflict, national identity, and the human cost of revolution.
Artistic Director Kent Gash said “I'm delighted to welcome home our former Artistic Director Ian Belknap, back to The Acting Company. This was Ian's artistic home for more than a decade, and he returns to us bearing the gift of an all too timely masterwork by Sean O'Casey. He has assembled an exceptional cast and we couldn't be more proud to bring Ian's hallmark excellence to The Public Theater for the second reading in our annual series.”
The cast for The Shadow of a Gunman features Hannah Cabell (Broadway's The Father, A Man for All Seasons, Off-Broadway's The Moors, Grounded), Eddie Cahill (Disney's “Miracle,” CBS's CSI:NY), Owen Campbell (Broadway's Hangmen), John Glover (Broadway's Love! Valour! Compassion! (Tony Award), The Importance of Being Earnest, Saint Joan, The WB's “Smallville”), John Keating (Off-Broadway's Molly Sweeney, The Plough and the Stars, Juno and the Paycock, HBO's “Boardwalk Empire”), Patrick Kerr (Broadway's Travesties, You Can't Take it With You, NBC's “Frasier”), Lauren Lee (Off-Off-Broadway's The Blue Jay), David Manis (Broadway's Days of Wine and Roses, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Peter McNally (Off-Broadway's Sally & Tom, Sincerity Forever), and Kathryn Meisle (Broadway's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Tartuffe, Off-Broadway's, As You Like It (Drama Desk Award)). Additional casting will be announced soon.
Each season, The Acting Company hosts a series of staged readings. A mixture of new texts, classics of the canon, and forgotten favorites, these readings are a showcase of The Acting Company's alumni and a chance to explore other works by playwrights and directors featured in the company's National Tours. The Acting Company gratefully recognizes the generous supporters of The Louanna O. Carlin and John McDonald Reading Series, including Ann C. James (Underwriter, Spell #7), Ro Spaziani, (Underwriter, Orlando and Virginia) and Richard J. Reilly, Jr. (Series Producing Sponsor).
The Acting Company's Louanna O. Carlin & John McDonald 2024-2025 Reading Series includes:
Directed by Ann C. James
Produced in association with Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre as part of Expand the Canon's 4th Season
Monday, October 21, 2024
7:00 pm
425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place), New York
A striking choreopoem by the playwright of for colored girls..., this bold play examines the irony of Black performers in a white-led entertainment industry. Written in the 1960s, its language, rhetoric, and intent are blisteringly relevant to this day.
By Seán O'Casey
Directed by Ian Belknap
Monday, November 4, 2024
7:00 pm
425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place), New York
Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, this is a tale of a young poet who lets the rumor that he is an IRA assassin run wild as he enjoys the mysterious allure this lends him in the eyes of his neighbors, including a young woman. Moving from the comedic to the tragic, this is one of O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy, exploring conflict, national identity, and the human cost of revolution.
By Henry Chettle
Directed by Nathan Winkelstein
Produced in association with Red Bull Theater
Monday, January 27, 2025
7:30pm
Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre
2537 Broadway (at 95th St), New York
The captivating story of a young man seeking to avenge the murder of his father with the help of a diabolical servant. He joins the household of his enemies, enacting convoluted plots of deceit, betrayal, poisoning and violence to pursue his ends. But unchecked vengeance has a way of catching up with you. This is a gripping tale of revenge, and betrayal that sweeps an audience along to a conclusion not to be missed.
Adapted and Directed by Kevin Kuhlke
Music is by Heather Christian
Monday, February 17, 2025
7:00pm
425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place), New York
This music infused, open hearted play interfaces aspects of the novel Orlando with the life of Virginia Woolf. While staging an open rehearsal, Virginia's characters from Orlando take over and lead her on a wild, joyous and loving adventure. Fact and fiction collide in a play that celebrates theater's ability to embrace the fluidity of identity, location and time and the ways in which an artist both creates and is created by her art.
Directed by Artistic Director Kent Gash
Monday, March 17, 2025
7:00pm
425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place), New York
A theatrical adaptation of the controversial and provocative book by the author, Anthony Burgess, himself, this authoritative theatrical text is filled with "ultra-violence," capturing the chaotic tone of the novella in a dramatic experience both dystopian and satirical.
Series ticket packages and single tickets for The Shadow of a Gunman are now available. Seating is subject to availability. Visit theactingcompany.org/reading-series or call 212-258-3111 to learn more and reserve tickets.
For more information, visit www.theactingcompany.org.
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