Cast and Creative Team Announced For MEASURE FOR MEASURE at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast and creative team for the upcoming production of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, staged by celebrated director Henry Godinez in the Courtyard Theater, October 21-November 27, 2022.

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall" in Shakespeare's searing examination of corruption and hypocrisy. Godinez sets the play in 1950s Cuba, as political unrest simmers beneath a world of glamour, music, and sensuality. The company features Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Kevin Gudahl, Adam Poss, Andrés Enriquez, Alejandra Escalante, Gregory Linington, Lanise Antoine Shelley, Ana Santos, Elizabeth Ledo, Joe Foust, Robert Schleifer, Debo Balogun, Kidany Camilo, Sándor Menéndez, and Felicia Oduh.

It's 1959 and a revolution is brewing, but the sultry nightclubs of Havana are the carefree playground of the rich, the famous-and the corrupt. As the city sinks further into moral disrepair, the Duke stages his departure and yields power to Angelo. The Duke's deputy wastes no time reviving an ancient statute of chastity and zealously enforcing his rule upon threat of execution. When the nun Isabella comes to plead for mercy for the life of her condemned brother Claudio, the depths of raw power's depravity are shockingly revealed.

"I was born in Cuba around the time of the revolution," shared Godinez. "Cuba has this intoxicating atmosphere-the moment you step off the plane, you feel it in the air, the color of the soil, the palm trees... This atmosphere of glamour and sensuality is what drew movie stars and mobsters to Havana in the 1950s-and put money in the pockets of leaders. The revolutionaries were perhaps originally motivated by a true and righteous response to this corruption, but soon they too became overwhelmed by power and greed."

Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel appears as the nun Isabella. Gonzalez-Cadel is an ensemble member at Teatro Vista, with recent Chicago credits including Court Theatre's The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice and Goodman Theatre's The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. She has been featured as one of the Chicago Tribune's "10 Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre" and won a Jeff Award for her portrayal of Lela in Steep Theatre's wildly successful Lela & Co. Appearing as the Duke is Kevin Gudahl, a veteran of more than 40 Chicago Shakespeare productions, whose additional credits include international work with The Donmar Warehouse, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and five seasons with the Stratford Festival. Adam Poss makes his Chicago Shakespeare debut as Angelo. In addition to credits at Steppenwolf Theatre and Writers Theatre, Poss appeared as Lady Macbeth in Robert O'Hara's reimagined Macbeth at the Denver Center. In the role of Isabella's condemned brother Claudio is Andrés Enriquez, who received a Jeff Award nomination for his performance in Porchlight Music Theatre's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and whose additional credits include work at Teatro Vista, Lifeline Theatre, and A Red Orchid Theatre. A veteran of seven seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alejandra Escalante portrays Mariana. Escalante returns to Chicago Shakespeare after her acclaimed performance as Helen in last season's All's Well That Ends Well.

The role of Lucio will be played by Gregory Linington, a 12-year company member at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a 2022 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. Appearing as Escalus is Lanise Antoine Shelley, who was recently seen as Eloise in Goodman Theatre's School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play and whose credits also include Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf Theatre, Stratford Festival, and five years as a resident company member at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. In the role of nightclub owner Mistress Overdone is Ana Santos, an ensemble member at Aguijón Theater. Jeff Award-winner Elizabeth Ledo is Pompey, returning to Chicago Shakespeare after memorable performances in All's Well That Ends Well, The King's Speech, Tug of War: Civil Strife, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others. Joe Foust is Elbow, with numerous credits at Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman Theatre, and Court Theatre. Appearing as the Provost is Robert Schleifer, whose credits include the National Tour of Deaf West Theatre's Big River, along with work at the Second City and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

The company also features Debo Balogun (Barnardine), Kidany Camilo (Froth), Sándor Menéndez (Ensemble), and Felicia Oduh (Juliet). Understudies include Ajax Dontavius, Dani Goldberg, Jeff Parker, and Laila Rodriques.

Director Henry Godinez first performed with Chicago Shakespeare in Barbara Gaines' Cymbeline in 1989 and went on to perform in 10 productions-as well as to direct the Theater's Spanish-language Romeo y Julieta. Godinez is a co-founder of Teatro Vista and a resident artistic associate at Goodman Theatre, where he most recently directed Fannie starring E. Faye Butler, American Mariachi in co-production with Dallas Theater Center, and the world premiere of Feathers and Teeth. In 2013 he forged a partnership with Teatro Buendía of Cuba to co-produce Pedro Páramo as part of the Latino Theatre Festival and appeared in the title role. His directing credits include work at Portland Center Stage, Signature Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

The production will feature music arranged, composed, and directed by Orbert Davis. An Emmy Award winner, Davis is the co-founder, conductor and Artistic Director of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. "It's hard for me to separate music from Cuban culture," says Godinez. "I'm thrilled to be partnering with Orbert to bring the audience into the world of our production through jazz."

Joining Godinez and Davis on the creative team are Jeff Award-winning Scenic, Projections, and Video Designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, Costume Designer Raquel Adorno, Lighting Designer Maria-Cristina Fuste, Jeff Award-winning Sound Designer/Composer André Pluess, Wig & Make-up Designer Richard Jarvie, Co-Arranger and Co-Composer Jorge Amado Molina, Movement Designer Melissa Blanco, Verse Coach Lia Mortensen, Intimacy Director Sarah Scanlon, Fight Choreographer Maya Prentiss, Dramaturg Maria de Los Angeles Torres, Assistant Director Hamid Dehghani, Production Stage Manager Jinni Pike, and Assistant Stage Manager Shannon Golden.

The performance on Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. will feature projected Spanish translation.

Chicago Shakespeare makes its facility and performances accessible to all patrons through its Access Shakespeare programs. Accessible performances for Measure for Measure include:

• Open-captioned Performances
  Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
  A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.
• ASL Duo-interpreted Performance
  Friday, November 18, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.
  All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters.
• Audio-described Performance
  Sunday, November 20, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.
  A program that provides spoken narration of a play's key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/measure or on social media at @chicagoshakes at #cstMeasure.

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