Cast, Creatives Ready to Roast in BARBECUE at the Lyric Stage

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has announced its cast and creative team for Barbecue by Robert O'Hara, directed by Summer L. Williams and running April 7 - May 7, 2017.

In Barbecue, the O'Mallery family gather in their local park to share some barbecue and straight talk with their sister. They are the kind of family that comes to an intervention armed with a Taser, even though their own downward spirals rival hers. But that's only the beginning as familial and cultural stereotypes are stripped away. Director Summer L. Williams (Intimate Apparel; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark) will have the audience racing to keep up with all the surprises and reversals in this piercingly funny new play.

Featuring: Ramona Lisa Alexander*, Sarah Elizabeth Bedard, Lyndsay Allyn Cox, Bryan T. Donovan*, Jackie Davis, Adrianne Krstansky*, Deb Martin*, James R. Milord, Christine Power, and Jasmine Rush*.

On the creative team: Scenic Design, Jessica Pizzuti; Costume Design, Tyler Kinney**; Lighting Design, Jen Rock; and Sound Design, David Wilson.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA)
** United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829

Performances run April 7 - May 7, 2017, playing Wednesdays, Thursdays - 7:30pm; Wednesday matinees - 2pm, April 12 & May 3; Fridays - 8pm; Saturdays - 3pm & 8pm; and Sundays - 3pm. Post-show Q&A with the artists: April 9 & 23, after the 3pm performance. All shows play The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA 02116.

Tickets start at $25. Seniors - $10 off regular price. Student rush - $10. Group rates available. Contact the Box Office at 617-585-5678 or go online at lyricstage.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Robert O'Hara (Playwright) has received the NAACP Best Director Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, 2 OBIEs and the Oppenheimer Award. He directed the World Premieres of Nikkole Salter and Dania Guiria's In the Continuum, Tarell McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays (Part 2), Colman Domingo's Wild with Happy as well as his own plays, Bootycandy and Insurrection: Holding History. His new plays Zombie: The American and Barbecue world premiered at Woolly Mammoth Theater and New York Shakespeare Festival, respectively. He is currently directing a new musical, Uni/son inspired from the poetry of August Wilson at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a new musical, Bella by Kirsten Childs at Playwrights Horizons. He will direct the world premiere of his play Mankind at Playwrights Horizons this fall.

Summer L. Williams (Director) is returning to the Lyric Stage where she directed Intimate Apparel and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. Most recent directing credits include Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Company One), Bootycandy (SpeakEasy Stage), An Octoroon, and Colossal (Company One, Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director for both productions). Regional credits: Shiv (part of The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy), Shelter Of Last Resort by Miranda Craigwell (part of XX PlayLab 2014), and the New England Premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known As Southwest Africa from the German Sudwestafrika between the Years 1884-1915, Idris Goodwin's How We Got On, The Brothers Size and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (part of the The Brother/Sister Plays, IRNE Award, Best Play), Neighbors, Grimm, The Good Negro, Voyeurs de Venus (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director), The Bluest Eye, The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot, Spell #7, Jesus Hopped the A Train (Elliot Norton Award, Best Fringe Production), TWILIGHT: Los Angeles 1992. Ms. Williams is a co-founder of Company One Theatre and thanks her Company One family, her friends, her parents, and WB for all of their support.

Ramona Lisa Alexander* previously appeared at the Lyric Stage in Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. Noteworthy credits include Milk Like Sugar, Breathe Boom (Huntington Theatre), The Boys from Syracuse (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Boston Landmarks Orchestra), Arabian Nights, Harriet Jacobs, Ti-Jean and His Brothers, Moon for the Misbegotten (Central Square Theater), Seven Guitars (The Artist Repertory Theatre, Portland Or.), The Brother/Sister Plays, King Hedley II (Portland Playhouse, Drammy Award recipient), Intimate Apparel (W.H.A.T), To Kill a Mockingbird (Montana Rep, National Tour), A Christmas Carol (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Postcards from Earth, (Guthrie Theatre), 103 Within The Veil, (Company One, IRNE Award), Doubt (Newton Nomadic Theater), In the Continuum, Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Up You Mighty Race Theatre Co, IRNE Award), In the Blood, (Zeitgeist Stage Company). Film: Knock Around Kids (adekoje-filmwerks). Alexander distinguishes herself not only onstage, but also leads creative-place making and arts organizing work with Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), and holds an M.F.A from Brandeis University. Upcoming: CSC's production of Romeo and Juliet, Boston Common.

Sarah Elizabeth Bedard is making her first appearance with the Lyric Stage. New York credits include One Year Lease Theatre Company, Jewlbox Theatre, Classics on the Rocks, and Mettawee River Theatre. New England credits include Significant Other (SpeakEasy Stage), Intimate Exchanges (Nora Theatre Company), Measure of Normalcy (Gloucester Stage Company), Shockheaded Peter (Company One), Phèdre (Actor's Shakespeare Project), A Christmas Carol (Berkshire Theatre Festival), DibbleDance (Shakespeare and Company), Three (Boston Public Works), Arcadia, Translations (Bad Habit Productions). Sarah directs with the young company at Stoneham Theatre and works as a freelance fight choreographer and theatre educator. She earned an M.F.A. in Acting from Brandeis University. sarahelizabethbedard.com

Lyndsay Allyn Cox previously appeared at the Lyric Stage in By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. Boston area acting credits include Zombie Double Feature, It Happened...We Can't Say When (New Exhibition Room), Dearly Departed, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Intimate Apparel, All in the Timing (The Footlight Club), The Overwhelming (Company One), The Heidi Chronicles (The Longwood Players), ClimACTS (The Theater Offensive). In addition Lyndsay has directed for several Boston theatre companies including The Theater Offensive, Fresh Ink, and Another Country Productions. Lyndsay is the Managing Director of Fresh Ink Theatre Company. She studied acting at both Appalachian State University and the University of Florida. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance and a minor in Vocal Music. Lyndsay lives in Boston with her husband and her three-year-old son.

Jackie Davis* is returning to the Lyric Stage after previously appearing in Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. She also choreographed Lyric Stage's production of Crowns. Other credits include, Bootycandy, Caroline or Change (choreographer) (SpeakEasy Stage), Sons of the Prophet (Huntington Theater), Living Room in Africa, Wind in the Willows (Gloucester Stage) Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Wheelock Family Theater), The Crucible (New Repertory Theater on Tour), Bottom of the Sky (Cape Cod Repertory Theater), The Bluest Eye, Bug, and The Etymology of Bird (Providence Black Repertory Company). Directing credits include Black Arts Drama Showcase, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Gift of an Orange, Hairspray, and most recently, Cosmic Christmas. Jackie is the founding artistic director of New Urban Theatre Laboratory, the producers of The Annual Five & Dime. Jackie is a member of Actor's Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.

Bryan T. Donovan* has performed on Broadway, Off Broadway, and regionally throughout the country. He's also appeared on television and in a few independent films. In addition to acting, Bryan has also produced several films that have traversed the country playing film festivals such as SXSW, LAFF, Outfest, and Slamdance to name a few.

Adrianne Krstansky* previously appeared at the Lyric Stage in November. Other theater credits include A Doll's House, Come Back Little Sheba (Huntington Theater, Eliot Norton and IRNE Awards for Outstanding Performance) Paradise Lost, Britannicus, Ubu Rock (American Repertory Theater), Tribes, Body Awareness, Snakebit (SpeakEasy Stage), Blackberry Winter, Imagining Madoff, On the Verge, Holiday Memories, Three Viewings, 2.5 Minute Ride (New Repertory Theater), New Electric Ballroom (Gloucester Stage, Eliot Norton Award, Outstanding Ensemble ), Othello (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), and Gary, Legally Dead (Boston Playwrights Theater.) Film credits: Olive Kitteridge (HB0) and The Company Men. She is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at Brandeis University.

Deb Martin* is making her Lyric Stage debut. Theater: Arcadia (The Gamm Theatre), Mud Blue Sky, Gidion's Knot (Bridge Repertory Theater), Casa Valentina, Next Fall(SpeakEasy Stage), and King Lear (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company). Other productions include Victor/Victoria (2nd National Tour), Ivanov, The Balcony, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Miss Julie. Development workshops with ArtsEmerson, New Repertory Theatre, and German Stage. Film: Spartan with Val Kilmer and William H. Macy, written and directed by David Mamet. B.F.A., Emerson College, and trained with off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company.

James Milord is making his Lyric Stage debut. He was recently seen in Akeelah and the Bee (Wheelock Family Theatre). Other theatre credits include Clybourne Park (Longwood Players Club), Splendor, Brothers Size Trilogy, The Good Negro, Den of Thieves, Emancipation Of Mandy and Miz Ellie, 103 Within the Veil, Clockwork Orange (Company One), Zooman and The Sign, Feathers On My Arm (Our Place Theatre), and Macbeth (Shakespeare Now). He was honored to receive Best Emerging Actor in 2010 ((David Wheeler Award). Film credits include The Brotherhood (Showtime) and a handful of industrial commercials. He currently works as a theatre educator, and continues to pursue his dreams professionally.

Christine Power is making her Lyric Stage debut. Recent local credits include Faithless (Boston Playwrights' Theater), Good (New Repertory Theatre), A Great Wilderness (Zeitgeist Stage), Six Degrees of Separation (Bad Habit Productions), Equus (Off the Grid), Greenland (Apollinaire Theatre), Chalk (Fresh Ink Theater), In the Summer House (Fort Point Theater Channel), Playhouse Creatures (Maiden Phoenix), The Miracle Worker (Wheelock Family Theater), Neighbors (Company One). For more information, including voice-over and commercial work neactor.com/profile/ChristinePower.

Jasmine Rush* returns to Lyric Stage where she was seen in Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. New England credits also include Laura (Stoneham Theatre), Well (Actors Studio of NBPT), Stories without Roofs: Writing Home (Ministry of Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Firehouse Theatre for the Arts), The Forgetting Curve (Bridge Rep of Boston). Recent television credits include Blue Bloods (CBS) and Difficult People (Hulu). Jasmine is also a producer and stars in the upcoming independent feature film Bonhomme (D. Armas Prod.). She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts at University of MN, Twin Cities, and trained at Circle in the Square Theatre School in NYC. jasminemrush.com

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