Phillip James Brannon to Lead 'NAT TURNER', While David Wilson Barnes, Finn Wittrock & More Join NYTW's OTHELLO

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) just announced full casting for the first two shows of the 2016/17 season, NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM and Othello.

NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM, written by NYTW 2050 Fellow Nathan Alan Davis (Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea) and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian (The Convert), will feature Phillip James Brannon (Bootycandy) as "Nat Turner" and Rowan Vickers (The Sensuality Party) as "Thomas R. Gray." Previews begin on Wednesday, September 7, 2016, with an opening night set for Monday, September 26 for a limited engagement through Sunday, October 16, 2016. Tickets for NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM are on sale now at nytw.org.

In August 1831, Nat Turner led a slave uprising that shook the conscience of the nation. Turner's startling account of his prophecy and the insurrection was recorded and published by attorney Thomas R. Gray. Nathan Alan Davis makes his New York debut with a timely new play that imagines Turner's final night in a jail cell in Jerusalem, Virginia, as he is revisited by Gray and they reckon with what has passed and what the dawn will bring. Woven with vivid imagery and indelible lyricism, NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM examines the power of an individual's resolute convictions and their seismic reverberations through time.

NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM will feature scenic design by Susan Zeeman Rogers (Thumbprint), costume design by Montana Blanco (War), lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger (The Constant Wife), sound design by Nathan Leigh (Icarus), fight direction by Thomas Schall (The Crucible), and Dawn Elin-Fraser (Waitress) will serve as dialect coach.

In William Shakespeare's Othello - directed by Sam Gold (Fun Home) - David Oyelowo (Royal Shakespeare Company's The Histories, Selma, Queen of Katwe) and Daniel Craig (Betrayal, Spectre) will be joined by David Wilson Barnes (Bridge of Spies), Marsha Stephanie Blake ("Orange is the New Black"), Rachel Brosnahan ("House of Cards"), Blake DeLong (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Glenn Fitzgerald ("Dirty Sexy Money"), Slate Holmgren (King Lear), Anthony Michael Lopez (The Penalty), Matthew Maher (The Flick), Nikki Massoud (Zealot), Kyle Vincent Terry (Robin Hood), and Finn Wittrock ("American Horror Story").

OTHELLO will feature scenic design by Andrew Lieberman (Look Back in Anger), costume design by David Zinn (An Act of God), lighting design by Jane Cox (Noises Off), sound design by Bray Poor (War), and fight direction by Thomas Schall (The Crucible). Andrew Wade (Matilda) will serve as the voice consultant and Michael Sexton (Titus Andronicus) will serve as dramaturg and text consultant.

Season memberships for the recently announced 2016/17 season are now on sale at NYTW.org or 212-460-5475. In addition to NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM and Othello, the 2016/17 season will include THE OBJECT LESSON, by NYTW Usual Suspect Geoff Sobelle (all wear bowlers), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect David Neumann (Restless Eye), with scenic installation design by Steven Dufala in Spring 2017; and NYTW Usual Suspect Mfoniso Udofia'sSOJOURNERS and HER PORTMANTEAU, presented in repertory, directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and former NYTW 2050 Fellow Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (The Mysteries) in Spring 2017.

New York Theatre Workshop, now in its fourth decade of incubating important new works of theatre, continues to honor its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape all our lives. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village, NYTW presents four new productions, over 80 readings and numerous workshop productions for over 45,000 Audience members. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs, including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies and artist fellowships. Since its founding, NYTW has produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent; Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul; Doug Wright's Quills; Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde; Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla; Martha Clarke's Vienna: Lusthaus; Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, A Number and Love and Information; Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath; Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and Enda Walsh's Once; Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatcher; David Bowie and Enda Walsh's Lazarus; and seven acclaimed productions directed by Ivo van Hove. NYTW's productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, seventeen Tony Awards and assorted Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS - NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM:

Phillip James Brannon (Nat Turner) was last seen as Burma Jones in A Confederacy of Dunces at The Huntington Theatre in Boston, where he received an IRNE Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He has previously been seen at NYTW in Caryl Churchill's Love and Information and Amy Herzog's Belleville. Other Off-Broadway credits include his Obie Award winning performance in BootyCandy at Playwrights Horizons, written and directed by Robert O'Hara; ToasT (The Public Theater); The City of Conversation (Lincoln Center Theater); We Are Proud To Present... (Soho Rep). His received his BFA in Acting from DePaul University in Chicago, where he went on to perform in Tarell McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays, directed by Tina Landau, and The March, directed by Frank Galati, at Steppenwolf Theatre. Also in Chicago, Phillip has worked at The Court Theatre, Congo Square, and done five productions with The Goodman Theatre, four with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He has worked at other regional theaters such as Woolly Mammoth, Kansas City Rep, and The Wilma. TV and film credits include "Law & Order: SVU," and "Contagion." Phillip is set to have a recurring role on a new series shooting its pilot this fall.

ROWAN VICKERS (Thomas R. Gray). NYTW debut. Off-Broadway: The Sensuality Party (The New Group). Regional: Bad Jews (Studio Theatre, DC); Macbeth (Stratford); Peter Pan (The Grand Theatre); This Is Our Youth, Picnic, Cymbeline, Judy, By The Way Meet Vera Stark, The Seagull, As You Like It, Our Town, Richard III (Juilliard).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS - Othello:

David Wilson Barnes (The Duke/Ludovico) is currently filming AMC's upcoming drama series "The Son," based on the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize nominated novel by Philipp Meyer. He just recently wrapped shooting for the feature Miss Sloane (John Madden, dir) alongside Jessica Chastain. His film credits include Dreamworks/Disney's Bridge of Spies (Steven Spielberg, dir), Fox New Regency's True Story, and Universal's The Bourne Legacy. Including "The Son" for AMC, David also has recurred both in "Hell on Wheels" for the last three seasons as Martin Delaney and Dale Butler on "Halt & Catch Fire" for the network. Other recent television credits include guest starring on "The Knick" and "Elementary." His theater credits include The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway and Becky Shaw in Louisville, New York and London, which earned him an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Outstanding Newcomer.

MARSHA Stephanie Blake (Emilia) has appeared on Broadway as Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice and Joe Turner's Come and Gone for which she received the Paul Green Award from Tony Kushner. Off-Broadway credits include An Octoroon and Marie Antoinette at Soho Rep, Luck of the Irish at LCT3, Hurt Village at Signature Theatre (Audelco Award). Film credits include the upcoming films Wilde Wedding, Human People and Darker Than Blue, and Stand Clear of The Closing Doors (TriBeCa Film Festval 2013). TV credits: "Orange is the New Black" (SAG Ensemble Award), "Getting On," "The Big C," "Elementary," "Girls," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: SVU."

RACHEL BROSNAHAN (Desdemona). Broadway: The Big Knife. Regional: Up (Steppenwolf). Film: The Fixer, The Finest Hours, Louder Than Bombs, Beautiful Creatures, I'm Obsessed With You (But You've Got To Leave Me Alone) and upcoming Boomtown, Patriots Day. TV: "House of Cards" (Emmy Nom.), "Manhattan," "The Blacklist," "Olive Kitteridge," and upcoming, presently "Untitled Woody Allen Project" for Amazon.

Blake DeLong (Soldier) is thrilled to make his NYTW debut in Sam Gold's Othello. New York audiences know him best for originating the duel father/son roles of Bolkonsky and Andrey in Dave Malloy's sensation Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, for which he was honored with a Lucille Lortel Nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He has also been seen in productions at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Walkerspace, 59E59, 4th Street Theater, LaMaMa ETC, Soho Playhouse, and in many regional productions across the country. His film work includes lead roles in the Austin music drama, Thank You a Lot, which premiered at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, the indie comedy Auld Lang Syne, which recently won the Audience Favorite award at Indie Street Film Festival, and opposite Tony Winner Reed Birney in the upcoming short film Shy Guys. He has also appeared in supporting roles in Complete Unknown (with Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (with Tilda Swinton). Television credits include HBO's "Vinyl," NBC's "The Blacklist" and "The Mysteries of Laura," FOX's "The Following," and A&E's "Unforgettable." He is an alumnus of The Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab, and the Chautauqua Theater Company Conservatory. MFA, University of Texas at Austin.

Glenn Fitzgerald (Brabantio) is a highly regarded actor of stage, film, and television. Film roles include Lonnie, the son of Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin in David O. Russell's cult classic Flirting with Disaster; Neil, the boy at the "key party" that goes home with Sigourney Weaver in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm; the Hasidic scholar husband of Renee Zellwegger in A Price Above Rubies; the uptight assistant to Sean Connery in Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester; and the earnest antique dealer in love with Bruce Willis' wife in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. He has also played diverse roles in several indies including: a terminally ill pacifist forced to fight for his life in Series 7; a sociopathic skinhead opposite Ryan Gosling in The Believer; the sensitive, kind brother in Tully; and the reckless, drug-addled tank commander opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Buffalo Soldiers. Between film jobs Glenn has built a respected stage career, originating roles in Jon Robin Baitz's Mizlansky/Zilinsky, opposite Nathan Lane and directed by Joe Mantello; Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero (nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor); Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses at Yale Rep with Tracy Letts and Parker Posey, directed by Sam Gold; and David Lindsay-Abaire's Ripcord with Holland Taylor. He's appeared in innovative productions of classic plays such as Hedda Gabler at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Ivo van Hove; The Importance of Being Earnest at Williamstown Theater Festival, directed by David Hyde Pierce and starring Tyne Daly; and most recently CSC's Ivanov and Hamlet, directed by Austin Pendleton alongside Ethan Hawke and Peter Sarsgaard. Television credits includes series regular Brian Darling on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," and guest starring roles on "Six Feet Under," "Billions," "Madam Secretary," "Elementary," "Law and Order," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," "Homicide,
and "CSI:Miami."

Slate Holmgren (Montano). New York theatre: King Lear and Twelfth Night (The Public Theater's Shakespeare in The Park), The Tempest (LaMaMa), The Seagull (Culture Project), The Cherry Orchard (CSC), Double Falsehood (CSC). Regional theatre: The Taming of the Shrew (California Shakespeare); Passion Play (Yale Rep), Master Builder (Yale Rep), Trouble in Mind (Yale Rep), Macbeth (A.R.T.E.). Film/TV: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Douglas Brown, Ascent to Hell, Bloodletting, Coin Heist, "Sneaky Pete," "BrainDead", "Jessica Jones," "Gotham," "South of Hell," "The Following," "The Good Wife," "Blue Bloods," "Elementary." Education: MFA - Yale School of Drama.

ANTHONY Michael Lopez (Soldier) is a one-legged American performer working in theatre, TV, film, and commercials. He recently appeared in Comedy Central's "Broad City," Showtime's "The Knick," the 2014 NBC Scene Showcase, and in NYTW's staged reading of Othello. New York stage credits include The Penalty (The Public Theater), Agatha Christie's The Unexpected Guest (TBTB, Theatre Row), All The Rats & Rags (3LD, Joe's Pub), and Dog Gone Day (harunalee, BAX). Other performance work includes the multimedia installation "Martin Creed: The Back Door" at The Park Avenue Armory and Tim Fite's "Copycat" featuring the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Anthony hails from Chicago, Illinois.

Matthew Maher (Roderigo). Off-Broadway: The Muscles in Our Toes, Mr. Burns, The Flick (Off-Broadway & London), The World Over (Playwrights Horizons); Golden Child (Signature); Red Handed Otter (Cherry Lane); Uncle Vanya, Orange Hat and Grace, Molly's Dream (Soho Rep); Tales From My Parents' Divorce (The Civilians, Associate Artist); School For Lies (CSC). Also, shows with Clubbed Thumb, 13P, PS122, TFANA and The Public. Regional credits include Williamstown, NY Stage & Film, Berkeley Rep, A.R.T. and The McCarter. Film/TV: Live By Night, The Finest Hours, My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea, Biker Bar, "Nurse Jackie," A Most Violent Year, While We're Young, Gone Baby Gone, It's Kind of a Funny Story, The Killer Inside Me, Jersey Girl, Dogma, Bringing Out The Dead, Vulgar, "Over/Under," "The Unusuals," "John From Cincinnati," "Bored To Death" and all three "Law & Order" shows. Obie Award for The Race Of The Ark Tattoo with The Foundry and 2013 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance.

Nikki Massoud (Bianca) is thrilled to be making her NYTW debut. She originated the role of Marina in the World Premiere of Zealot by Theresa Rebeck at South Coast Rep. Other recent roles include Marina/Thaisa in Rinde Eckert's musical adaptation of Pericles at Two River Theater and Emily in Our Town at Portland Center Stage. In addition to singing and playing various musical instruments, Nikki is also a composer and collaborated with the band 3Pile to write the original folk-rock score for Trinity Rep's critically acclaimed production of The Grapes of Wrath, directed by Brian McEleney. A native of Montreal, Canada and Washington, D.C., Nikki is a graduate of BADA and Georgetown University and holds an MFA from Brown University/Trinity Rep.

Kyle Vincent Terry (Soldier) is thrilled to be making is NYC debut at NYTW. Recent credits include: A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep); 'George' in Intimate Apparel and 'Chorus' in Henry V at (Chautauqua); Robin Hood, Babs the Dodo (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Hamlet, These Seven Sicknesses, and The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (Brown/Trinity) and an international tour with the education show Sex Signals. He received his MFA from the Brown/Trinity conservatory. He thanks his family and friends for their intense support.

Finn Wittrock (Cassio). Broadway: Death of a Salesman. Off-Broadway: The Ilusion (Signature Theatre), The Age of Iron (CSC). Regional: The Guardsman (Kennedy Center), Sweet Bird of Youth (Goodman Theatre), The Blue Deep (Williamstown), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theater Company), Candida (Berkshire Theatre Festival). Film: The Big Short, Unbroken, My All American, The Submarine Kid. TV: "American Horror Story," "The Normal Heart," "Masters of Sex." Upcoming film: La La Land, Landline, A+, A Stupid and Futile Gesture.