Kate Burton to Join the Cast of SEJANUS, HIS FALL Presented by Red Bull Theater

Today, Red Bull Theater announced that Kate Burton will join the cast of the first public presentation of a new dramatization of Ben Jonson's Sejanus, His Fall, adapted and directed by Nathan Winkelstein, Red Bull's Associate Artistic Director.

The daughter of two celebrated Shakespearean actors, Kate Burton has played Viola, Juliet, Desdemona, and Isabella. Her performances in both Coriolanus and Cymbeline for Shakespeare in the Park, were uniformly praised, and in 2018 she was lauded for her Prospera in The Tempest for The Old Globe. A three-time Tony and Emmy Award nominee, she was last seen on Broadway opposite Kevin Kline in Present Laughter. On television, she is best known for her work in "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy." Most recently, she appeared in Where Did You Go, Bernadette starring Cate Blanchett and directed by Richard Linklater. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. Kate was honored by Red Bull this year with the Matador Award for Excellence in Classical Theater.

First performed in 1603, the start of the Jacobean era, Ben Jonson's tragedy of epic proportions is an incisive portrayal of political cronyism, sycophancy, and power. Tiberius is the Emperor of Rome. Sejanus is his right-hand man. But-in a society where books are burnt, "knowledge is made a capital offense," and free men have become "the prey of greedy vultures and spies"-factions are forming behind each of these charismatic leaders. Jonson's linguistically rich play has startling significance today in its exploration of treason and totalitarian tyranny. Sejanus sets his sights on Emperorship. No one can stop him. His fall is inevitable.

Sejanus, His Fall will also feature Shirine Babb (Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Macbeth; Timon of Athens - RSC/TFANA, The Crucible - Bedlam); Grantham Coleman (B'WAY: The Great Society - LCT; Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It - Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park; Choir Boy - MTC); Keith David (B'way: Hot Feet, Seven Guitars, Hedda Gabler, Jelly's Last Jam; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titus Andronicus, The Pirates of Penzance, Othello - Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park); Manoel Felciano (B'WAY: To Kill a Mockingbird, Amélie, Sweeney Todd - Tony Award nomination, Brooklyn The Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret; The Changeling - Red Bull Theater); Denis O'Hare (Tartuffe - National Theatre of Great Britain; B'WAY: Assassins - Tony Award nomination, Elling, Inherit the Wind, Sweet Charity, Take Me Out- Tony Award nomination, Major Barbara, Cabaret, Racing Demon; Into the Woods - Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park); Matthew Rauch (B'WAY: The Great Society, Junk, Prelude to a Kiss, The Merchant of Venice; The Merchant of Venice, The Winter's Tale - Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park; Expats, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - The New Group; The Duchess of Malfi, Edward II, The Revenger's Tragedy - Red Bull Theater); Liv Rooth (B'WAY: To Kill a Mockingbird, Born Yesterday; Blood and Gifts - Lincoln Center Theater; Wife to James Whelan - Mint Theater; Women Beware Women - Red Bull Theater), Stephen Spinella (B'WAY: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Angels in America - 2 Tony Awards, A View from the Bridge, Spring Awakening, James Joyce's The Dead - Tony Award nomination, Electra, The Velocity of Autumn; The Government Inspector, Volpone, Coriolanus - Red Bull Theater); Emily Swallow (B'WAY: High Fidelity; Romantic Poetry - Manhattan Theatre Club, The Black Eyed - New York Theatre Workshop, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Pleasure - Public Theater); Raphael Nash Thompson (The Red Letter Plays: f-ing A - Signature Theatre; Heartbreak House - Gingold Theatrical; Pericles, The Merchant of Venice - TFANA; The Witch of Edmonton, Edward II, Volpone, Pericles - Red Bull Theater), Tamara Tunie (B'WAY: Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, Oh Kay! with Brian Stokes Mitchell, Troilus and Cressida - Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park; Familiar - Obie Award/Playwright's Horizons; Fences - Kennedy Center; "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" - 18 seasons); and James Udom (The Rolling Stone - LCT3, Mies Julie - CSC, Tamburlaine - TFANA).

This event is a benefit for Red Bull Theater. Tickets are Pay What You Can. Advance reservations are recommended. Sejanus His Fall will premiere LIVE on Monday, May 17th. A recording of that livestream will be available until 7:00 PM EDT on Friday, May 21 - then it disappears.

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