Baltimore Center Stage to Present OUR TOWN in September

Baltimore Center Stage has announced the complete cast and creative team for Our Town. Written by Thornton Wilder and directed by Stevie Walker-Webb (The Folks at Home), Our Town begins performances on Thursday September 15 for a limited run through Sunday October 9.

Re-discover the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic play as you've never seen it before, drawing inspiration from our town, Baltimore. Helmed by Obie Award-winner Stevie Walker-Webb (director of BCS's acclaimed The Folks at Home), Our Town tells the story of a community: in their growing up and their marrying and their living and their dying. Widely regarded as the finest American play ever written, this Thornton Wilder masterpiece lifts up the beauty of ordinary human life and reminds us of how extraordinary each moment can be.

"Baltimore Center Stage's mission statement leads with the phrase 'inspired by our home city.' This production of Thornton Wilder's classic is every bit a manifestation of those words," shares BCS Artistic Director Stephanie Ybarra. "It's a gift to be collaborating with so many artists who call Baltimore home. And it is fitting that as we kick off our sixtieth season, we are rooting deeper into this mission, moving forward from the tumult of the past two years, and charting a path for BCS's next sixty years."

This aptly cast ensemble features performers with ties to Baltimore City. Lance Coadie Williams* (The Wire) will play the role of Stage Manager and the starring roles of Emily Webb and George Gibbs will be played by Kimberly Dodson* (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Avon Haughton*, respectively. Also joining the cast are KenYatta Rogers* as Dr. Frank Gibbs, Susan Rome* (The Folks at Home) as Mrs. Julia Gibbs, Derek Garza* (The Swindlers) as Editor Charles Webb, Rebecca L. Hargrove* (House of Cards) as Myrtle Webb, Kyle Hermary as Wally Webb, Chania Hudson* as Rebecca Gibbs, Suzanna Fox* as Mrs. Soames, O'Malley Steuerman as Howie Newsome, Nancy Linden* as Professor Willard, Dagan Brown as Joe Crowell, Alexander Velasco Suro as Si Crowell, Frank Britton* as Joe Stoddard, Jared Michael Swain* as Sam Craig, Abigail Funk* as Constable Warren, and Michael David Axtell* as Simon Stimson. Our Town will also include an ensemble featuring Jared Alexander, Monique Barnes, Zipporah Brown, Dominic Gladden, Vicky Graham, and Isaac Loyal.

Our Town features scenic design by Anton Volosvek, costume design by kindall houston almond, lighting design by Josh Martinez-Davis (A Burning Church), and sound design by Nina Field. Tenley Pitonzo* (Sleep No More) is the Production Stage Manager, and Madison Tarchala* is the Assistant Stage Manager. Casting is by JZ Casting. PJ Johnnie is the assistant director and Maria Marsalis and Jenna Keefer are the production assistants.

*Members of Actor's Equity Association

Tickets for Our Town can be purchased at www.centerstage.org/plays-and-events/our-town/. Media members may request performance attendance by emailing Memberships Manager Jerri Keene (jkeene@centerstage.org).

For general information, visit www.centerstage.org or call the Box Office at 410.332.0033

Baltimore Center Stage's first priority is the health, safety, and well-being of our audiences, staff, artists, and guests. Our current policy is that masks must be worn at Baltimore Center Stage and may only be removed in designated eating and drinking areas. Proof of vaccination - or a negative COVID PCR test within 72 hours of show time - is required. For the most up to date COVID Safety Guidelines, visit our website: www.centerstage.org/visit/covid-19-response.

Designated the State Theater of Maryland in 1978, Baltimore Center Stage provides the highest quality theater and programming for all members of our communities, including youth and families, under the leadership of Artistic Director Stephanie Ybarra. Baltimore Center Stage ignites conversations and imaginations by producing an eclectic season of professional productions across two mainstages, through engaging community programs, and with inspiring education programs. Everything we do at Baltimore Center Stage is led by our core values-chief among them being Access For All. Our mission is heavily rooted in providing active and open accessibility for everyone, regardless of any and all barriers, to our Mainstage performances, education initiatives, and community programming.

BIOS

Thornton Wilder (Playwright) (1897-1975) was a novelist and playwright whose works celebrate the connection between the commonplace and the cosmic dimensions of human experience. He is the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both drama and fiction: for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and two plays, Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth. His other novels include The Cabala, The Woman of Andros, Heaven's My Destination, The Ides of March, The Eighth Day and Theophilus North. His other major dramas include The Matchmaker (adapted as the musical Hello, Dolly!) and The Alcestiad. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA and The Long Christmas Dinner are among his well-known shorter plays. He enjoyed enormous success as a translator, adaptor, actor, librettist and lecturer/teacher and his screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt remains a classic psycho-thriller to this day. Wilder's many honors include the Gold Medal for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. More information on Thornton Wilder and his family is available in Penelope Niven's definitive biography, Thornton Wilder: A Life (2013) as well as on the Wilder Family website, www.thorntonwilder.com

Stevie Walker-Webb (Director) is an Obie award-winning Director, Playwright, and Cultural Worker who believes in the transformational power of art. He is the founder and Executive Director of HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS an arts and advocacy non-profit that makes visual the suffering and inhumane treatment of incarcerated mentally divergent people and the policies that adversely impact their lives. He is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Theatre, The Lily Award in honor of Lorraine Hansberry awarded by the Dramatists Guild of America, a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop and a Wellspring Scholar. He served as the Founding Artistic Director of the Jubilee Theatre in Waco, Texas and has created art and theatre in Madagascar, South Africa, Mexico, and across America. He served as the Outreach Coordinator for Theatre of the Oppressed-NYC and holds an MFA from The New School, and a B.S. in Sociology from the University of North Texas. His work has been produced by: The Public Theater, American Civil Liberties Union, The New Group, Cherry Lane, Zara Aina, La Mama, Woolly Mammoth, Baltimore Center Stage, Lincoln Center, and Classic Stage.

Stevie is a regular professor and lecturer at NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he teaches acting, ensemble work, and devised theatre. Currently he is a professor and Artist in Residence at Harvard University where he's teaching a series of courses aimed at "Decolonizing the Creative Process." The Harvard lectures will culminate in a forthcoming book.

Stevie has written and directed two films: We Got Out and the documentary Hundreds of Thousands.

Notable Theatrical Productions: Ain't No Mo written by Jordan E. Cooper at The Public Theater (2019), Associate Director for Shakespeare in the Park at The Public Theater Julius Caesar (2017) and Twelfth Night with Oskar Eustis and Shania Taub (2018), One in Two by Donja Love at the Signature (2019), Black Odyssey by Marcus Gardley at Classic Stage (2023).

Stevie has served as a director for several Audible productions including, Wally Roux Phantom Mechanic written by Nick Carr and starring William Jackson Harper, Hop Tha A by James Anthony Tyler, and Brutal Imagination written by Cornelius Eady, starring Sally Murphy and Joe Morton.

He's a contributing writer on The Ms. Pat Show, a new breakout comedy streaming on BET+ and has been commissioned by The Mercury Store for a forthcoming play called Of Mercy And Madness.

For more information about Stevie visit steviewalkerwebb.com

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