Full Cast and Creative Team Set for THE HALF-GOD OF RAINFALL at A.R.T.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University has revealed the cast and creative team of The Half-God of Rainfall, co-produced with New York Theatre Workshop. Written by Inua Ellams and directed by Taibi Magar, The Half-God of Rainfall begins performances at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square, Cambridge on Friday, September 8, opens officially on Tuesday, September 12, and runs through Sunday, September 24, 2023. 

 

From award-winning playwright and poet Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles) comes a new epic fusing Greek mythology and Yoruba spirituality, in which mothers, daughters, and goddesses rise up against the entitled lord of Mount Olympus. The A.R.T. cast will feature Jason Bowen as Sàngó, Kelley Curan as Hera, Mister Fitzgerald as Demi, Patrice Johnson Chevannes as Osún, Russell G. Jones as Elegba, Michael Laurence as Zeus, and Jennifer Mogbock as Modúpé.

 

“Sumptuous and staggering!” says The New York Times. “[Inua] Ellams is a writer whose intuitive understanding of the common threads of tradition, globalization, and human instinct could very well create a new mythological tapestry for our interwoven times.”

 

«««« Beautiful! Taibi Magar directs the thoughtful, meticulous NYTW and A.R.T. co-production,” says New York Theatre Guide.

 

The Half-God of Rainfall is directed by Taibi Magar (Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Macbeth In Stride; We Live in Cairo at A.R.T.). Orlando Pabotoy provides movement direction. Scenic design is by Riccardo Hernández (Jagged Little Pill and The White Card at A.R.T., among many others), costume design is byLinda Cho (Endlings at A.R.T. and NYTW), lighting design is by Stacey Derosier, sound design and music composition is by Mikaal Sulaiman, projection design is by Tal Yarden (Ocean Filibuster at A.R.T.), and Orisha Movement Consulting/Choreography is by Beatrice Capote. Ann James (Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 at A.R.T.) is the intimacy director, Dawn-Elin Fraser (Waitress, Crossing, and Finding Neverland at A.R.T.) is the voice & dialect director, and Iyvon E. is the dramaturg. The stage management team includes production stage manager Caroline Englander. Casting is by Destiny Lilly CSA of The Telsey Office.

 

“There’s something humbling and mortal about basketball in the sense that there’s a simple equation,” Ellams told The New York Times. “The ball bounces; it comes back up to your palm. You can break that down. This is solitariness, which invites the blues and what it means to play the blues. There’s a longing. There’s a natural melancholy about it,” he added, which makes it “easier to pair with the human spirit.”

 

“Mythologies are frames through which we find our values,” says Magar, “and this play demands this new framing: play with love and play with pain. It’s a call to love.”

 

Performances of The Half-God of Rainfall continue at New York Theatre Workshop through Sunday, August 20. 

 

A.R.T.’s 2023/24 programming is supported by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barton & Guestier, and Meyer Sound. 

 

TICKETING INFORMATION

 

Tickets from $35 are available at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/The-Half-God-of-Rainfall, as are a limited number of $5 Take Five tickets for community members who feel attending theater is financially out of reach or want to take something new to experience the A.R.T. 

 

Discounts are available to students and ticket-buyers under age 25, Blue Star families, EBT cardholders, seniors, Harvard faculty and staff, and others.

 

More information at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/PlanYourVisit.

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