PRIDE PLAYS to Open with Reading of OUR TOWN; Additional Casting Also Announced

Festival producers Doug Nevin and Michael Urie, in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, are proud to announce an additional reading to the Festival line-up, as well as additional casting for Pride Plays, an upcoming festival of play readings to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Nick Mayo serves as Festival Director.

 

Pride Plays will include a reading of Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, directed by Jenna Worsham, and featuring Michael David Baldwin, JorJa Brown, Cosmo Castaldi, Joslyn DeFreece, Sydney Mae Diaz, Parker Gard, Nicholas Gorham, Em Grosland, Jax Jackson, Eve C. Lindley, Summer Minerva, Pooya Mohseni, JP Moraga, Sophie Sagan-Gutherz, Cece Suazo, and Marquise Vilson.

 

Thornton Wilder's Our Town broke new ground when it premiered in 1938- a simple yet profound story of an American town and its unremarkable inhabitants. This treasured metatheatrical play, with no scenery or props, continues to be a constant reflection of its audience, whenever and wherever it is staged. Director Jenna Worsham (Street Children, Agnes) helms the Pride Plays reading, stating: "Our cast is comprised wholly of transgender, non-binary, gender nonconforming, and gender fluid actors. With this gender-diverse ensemble, we explore Wilder's ardency for the sacredness of all humanity; and in doing, we remember the strength and sacredness of the Stonewall Community. And as an entirely LGBTQ team, we seek to celebrate this great text, while simultaneously inserting ourselves into the very American literary canon that has long excluded us."

 

The program of original works from Trans Lab by playwrights Ty Defoe, Ashley Lauren Rogers, Noemi Charlotte Thieves, Mariam Bazeed, Corrine Donly, and Eamon Boylan will be directed by Boylan and feature Sylas Barrett, Mariam Bazeed, Jorja Brown, Cosmo Castaldi, Asia Kate Dillon, Michelle Finston, Hennessy, Jordan Ho, Esco Jouley, Drita Kabashi, Omer Koran, Milo Longenecker, Chris Okawa, Danielle Purdy, Ashley Lauren Rogers, Sushma Saha, Aneesh Sheth, TL Thompson, and Rachel Weekley.

 

In addition to previously announced casting, the Pride Plays readings will also feature Pascale Armand, Liza Bennet, Brooke Bloom, EJ Bonilla, Kiet Tai Cao, Xandra Clark, Dawn Clements, Jessica Lindsey Cohen, Hennessy, Esco Jouléy, Blaine Krauss, Angel Lin, Jared Loftin, Laura Mercedes Martinez, Rob Morean, Jon Rua, Preston Sadleir, Sushma Saha, Theo T. Stockman, Rachel Towne, Kristina Valada-Viars, André Ward, Andreas Wyder, and Noah Zachary.

 

More than a dozen play readings from celebrated LGBTQIA voices will be presented from June 20th through 24th at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, capturing the prideful spirit of the LGBTQIA community and celebrating 50 years of theatrical voices.

 

Set against the backdrop of World Pride and the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, Pride Plays hopes to be a reflection of the queer experience the community has braved in the years since its heroes took their stand.

 

The advisory committee for Pride Plays is Chay Yew, Moises Kaufman, Lucy Thurber, Sam Hunter, Lisa Scheps, Michael Sheppard, Miranda Haymon, and Ted Snowdon.

 

Additional casting for Pride Plays will be announced later. Calleri Casting serves as the casting office for Pride Plays.

 

#PridePlays2019

 

FOR TICKETS, FESTIVAL SCHEDULE, AND MORE ABOUT PRIDE PLAYS VISIT: https://www.rattlestick.org/now-playing-up-next-1

 

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