Thomas Jay Ryan, Cara Ricketts, Thom Sesma & More to Star in ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM at the Lucille Lortel Theatre

RED BULL THEATER has announced the cast for the first of its two Off-Broadway productions, Arden of Faversham, opening this Spring at the newly renovated Lucille Lortel Theatre. Inspired by actual events, Arden of Faversham is an Elizabethan play of unknown authorship-some say, Shakespeare. Obie Award-winner Jesse Berger (The Alchemist, The Government Inspector) directs this new adaptation from Jeffrey Hatcher (The Alchemist, The Government Inspector) and Kathryn Walat (Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen).

The cast will be lead by Cara Ricketts as Alice (Broadway: Time and the Conways; Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure - Theatre for a New Audience; several seasons at Stratford Festival), Thomas Jay Ryan (Broadway: West Side Story, The Nap, The Crucible, In the Next Room Or The Vibrator Play; Off-Broadway: Becky Nurse of Salem, The Temperamentals) as her husband Arden, and Tony Roach as her lover Mosby (Broadway: Flying Over Sunset, My Fair Lady, Bright Star; Off-Broadway: The Liar - CSC). They will be joined by Veronica Falcón (New York stage debut), Zachary Fine (Broadway: China Doll with Al Pacino; Off-Broadway: Coriolanus - Red Bull Theater, Fashions For Men - Mint Theater); Emma Geer (Prayer for the French Republic - MTC, Mary Page Marlowe - Second Stage, How To Transcend a Happy Marriage - Lincoln Center Theater, Hindle Wakes and The Price of Thomas Scott - Mint Theater); Joshua David Robinson (The Minutes - Broadway, The Unbelieving - Off-Broadway); Thom Sesma (A Man of No Importance - CSC, Letters of Suresh - Lortel Award nomination, Pacific Overtures - Lortel Award nomination, Sweeney Todd - Barrow Street Theatre); David Ryan Smith (Broadway: One Man Two Guvnors, Passing Strange; Off-Broadway: Epiphany - Lincoln Center Theater); and Haynes Thigpen (Broadway: Dead Accounts, Misalliance. Red Bull: Revenger's Tragedy, Duchess of Malfi). Rick Sordelet will serve as fight director.

"What a joy to be starting rehearsals again live and in person, especially with this fantastic company of actors! It's a particular pleasure to welcome so many new people joining the Red Bull family of artists for the first time, as well as of course some favorites returning - wonderful emerging artists alongside well-established artists at the top of their game - all for fun in our Jacobean playpen. With this group of top-notch talent, I know audiences are in for a delightful ride of a production, full of passion, playful humor, and virtuosic performances," said Mr. Berger.

Performances begin Monday March 6th at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). Opening Night is set for Thursday March 16th. This strictly-limited four-week engagement will continue through Saturday April 1st only.

"Arden of Faversham is one of the English-speaking theater's first true-crime stories. Darkly comic-with a shocking ending-it's Macbeth meets Double Indemnity meets Fargo. And it features one of the strongest and most mercurial female protagonists in Elizabethan drama, whose wit and passions drive the action. This play has been on my 'must-do' list for years, and I'm thrilled to finally have an opportunity to tackle it, especially in a crackling new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kathryn Walat. Their work heightens the thrills, sharpens the laughs, and deepens the passions of the original, enlivening the ways in which this rarely-produced classic speaks - playfully and powerfully - to today's audiences," added Mr. Berger.

It's Valentine's Day and Alice Arden wants her husband dead. He's come into money and all she can think about is her lover, Mosby. So, the pair enter into a pact to murder Arden and engage a cluster of killers to do the deed. If only they weren't so spectacularly inept. Inspired by actual events, this sexy thriller of unknown authorship - some say, Shakespeare - is a bloody, darkly comic Elizabethan noir

"Printed in 1592 with no authorial attribution, Arden of Faversham has long been seen as the most famous anonymous play from the Elizabethan era," explains scholar Tanya Pollard. "In recent years, however, its authorship has become a topic of heated critical debate. Scholars have generally agreed that the play was written collaboratively, as was typical of early modern drama in general and especially at the time of Arden's composition. New work with computational stylistic analysis has supported a growing consensus that the play was written by two authors: one possibly Thomas Watson, and the other, responsible for many of the play's middle scenes, William Shakespeare. If Shakespeare contributed to Arden, as seems increasingly likely, it would be one of the earliest plays in which he had a hand - possibly the earliest. As such, it introduces suggestive details about his early artistic development. In particular, its unusually substantial and complex female leading role offers a haunting pre-history for later Shakespearean creations such as Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, and Cleopatra. This production compounds the play's collaborative voices with two newer additions: Jeffrey Hatcher and Kathryn Walatt."

Arden of Faversham will include scenic design by Christopher Swader & Justin Swader (Seven Deadly Sins - Tectonic Theater Project; Seize the King, Antigone, The Bacchae - Classical Theatre of Harlem; Last Stop on Market Street - Atlantic Theater; The 7½ Mysteries of Toulouse McLane - Park Avenue Armory). Mika Eubanks will design costumes (Fires in the Mirror - Baltimore Center Stage/Long Wharf Theatre; Twelfth Night, Seize the King - Classical Theatre of Harlem; Twelfth Night - Yale Rep; Broadway: A Strange Loop - assistant). Reza Behjat will provide lighting design (Good Enemy - Audible Theater; Wish You Were Here - Playwrights Horizons; The Vagrant Trilogy - Public Theater; Out of Time - NAATCO/Public Theater; Henry VI - NAATCO; English - Atlantic Theater/Roundabout). Greg Pliska will compose music and provide sound design (RBT: The Alchemist, The Government Inspector, The School for Scandal, Pericles; Broadway: Sylvia; off-Broadway: Trevor).

Next up will be The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont, presented in association with Fiasco Theater, beginning performances Monday April 17th at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). Opening Night is set for Thursday April 27th. This limited engagement will continue through Saturday May 13th only.

Tickets for both Arden of Faversham and The Knight of the Burning Pestle are now on sale. Tickets are $75 - $110. Discounts are available for groups. To purchase tickets visit RedBullTheater.com, call 212/343-7394, or visit the Lortel box office.

COVID Protocols

Vaccinations and boosters are strongly recommended but not required. If requested, patrons should be prepared to wear a mask for the duration of their visit, beginning from their arrival on site, except when actively eating or drinking. Thank you for helping keep everyone safe! Masks are required for Monday evening and Saturday matinee performances.

These two productions are made possible through special arrangement with THE Lucille Lortel THEATRE FOUNDATION. For the calendar of all upcoming activities, a history of the theater, and more, please visit www.lortel.org.

For more information about any of Red Bull Theater's programs, visit www.RedBullTheater.com.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS

Jeffrey Hatcher's work was last presented by Red Bull Theater in 2021 with the acclaimed romp The Alchemist and in 2017 with his hit version of inane corruption à la Gogol, The Government Inspector. His Broadway credits include Never Gonna Dance (book). Off-Broadway credits include Three Viewings and A Picasso at Manhattan Theatre Club; Scotland Road and The Turn of the Screw at Primary Stages; Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) at the Minetta Lane; Murder by Poe, The Turn of the Screw, and The Spy at The Acting Company; and Neddy at American Place. Other credits include Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Mrs. Mannerly, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, Korczak's Children, To Fool the Eye, Confederacy of Dunces, The Critic, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and others at The Guthrie, Old Globe, Yale Rep, The Geffen, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Arizona Theater Company, San Jose Rep, The Empty Space, Indiana Rep, Children's Theater Company, History Theater, Madison Rep, Intiman, Illusion, Denver Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Actors Theater of Louisville, Philadelphia Theater Company, Huntington, Shakespeare Theatre (D.C.), Asolo, City Theater, Studio Arena and dozens more in the U.S. and abroad. Film and television credits include Stage Beauty, Casanova, The Duchess, Mr. Holmes, and episodes of "Columbo" and "The Mentalist." Grants/awards: NEA, TCG, Lila Wallace Fund, Rosenthal New Play Prize, Frankel Award, Charles MacArthur Fellowship Award, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Barrymore Award Best New Play, and IVEY Award Best New Play. He is a member and/or alumnus of The Playwrights Center, the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild, and New Dramatists.

Kathryn Walat is a playwright and opera librettist. Her play Creation, developed at The O'Neill, premiered at the Theatre @ Boston Court and was nominated for a LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Playwriting. Her Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen premiered Off-Broadway at WP and was published in New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2007. Her Bleeding Kansas premiered at the Hangar Theatre and received a Francesca Primus Citation (American Theatre Critics Association). Other plays include See Bat Fly (Kilroy's List; Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep), Ancient Gods of the Backwoods (New Georges' Germ Project), Know Dog (Salvage Vanguard), Johnny Hong Kong (Perishable Theatre), and On the Road (Actors' Theatre of Louisville/Anthology Project). Her work as an opera librettist includes Paul's Case (PROTOTYPE, Pittsburgh Opera) with composer Gregory Spears, named in New Yorker magazine's Ten Notable Performances for 2014; its recording from National Sawdust Tracks was named in Opera News' Five Best New Works of 2019. The Echo Drift was commissioned and produced by Beth Morrison Projects, HERE, and American Opera Projects, and premiered at PROTOTYPE Festival. She is an affiliated artist with New Georges and the Playwrights' Center, and an associate professor and resident playwright at SUNY Albany. BA, Brown University; MFA, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Jesse Berger has directed Pericles, The Revenger's Tragedy, Edward the Second, Women Beware Women, The Duchess of Malfi, The Witch of Edmonton, The Maids, Volpone, Loot, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, The Changeling, The Government Inspector and The Alchemist since founding Red Bull Theater in 2003. Jesse has also directed across the country at Denver Center (Richard III), The Old Globe (Othello), Pittsburgh Public Theatre (Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, An Iliad, A Number, I Am My Own Wife, The Laramie Project), PlayMakers Rep (An Iliad), Barrington Stage (Absurd Person Singular, Sleuth), Great Lakes Theater Festival, Dorset Theatre Festival, Washington Shakespeare Company, and the Utah, Idaho, and St. Louis Shakespeare Festivals, among others. Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Direction (Marat/Sade), Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Revival (The Maids); SDC Callaway Award nominations for Excellence in Directing (The Government Inspector, The Witch of Edmonton, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore), OBIE Award for Outstanding Direction (The Government Inspector).

ABOUT RED BULL THEATER

Red Bull Theater, hailed as "the city's gutsiest classical theater" by Time Out New York, brings rarely seen classic plays to dynamic new life for contemporary audiences, uniting a respect for tradition with a modern sensibility. Named for the rowdy Jacobean playhouse that illegally performed plays in England during the years of Puritan rule, Red Bull Theater is New York City's home for dynamic performances of great plays that stand the test of time. With the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as its cornerstone, the company also produces new works that are in conversation with the classics. A home for artists, scholars, and students, Red Bull Theater delights and engages the intellect and imagination of audiences, and strives to make its work accessible, diverse, and welcoming to all. We value and practice inclusiveness, equity, and diversity in all of our activities, and are committed to antiracist action. Red Bull Theater believes in the power of great classic stories and plays of heightened language to deepen our understanding of the human condition, in the special ability of live theater to create unique, collective experiences, and in the timeless capacity of classical theater to illuminate the events of our times. Variety agreed, hailing Red Bull's work as: "Proof that classical theater can still be surprising after hundreds of years."

Since its debut in 2003 with a production of Shakespeare's Pericles starring Daniel Breaker, Red Bull Theater has served adventurous theatergoers with Off-Broadway productions, Revelation Readings, and the annual Short New Play Festival. The company also offers outreach programs including Shakespeare in Schools bringing professional actors and teaching artists into public school classrooms; Bull Sessions, free post-play discussions with top scholars; and Classical Acting Intensives led by veteran theater professionals. During the pandemic, Red Bull created several new and ongoing programs to serve audiences and artists with our mission: RemarkaBULL Podversations, Online Readings, Seminars, and more.

"The classics-shaking Red Bull Theater," as Time Out NY has called it, has presented 20 Off-Broadway productions and nearly 200 Revelation Readings of rarely seen classics, serving a community of more than 5,000 artists and providing quality artistic programming to an audience of over 65,000. The company's unique programming has received ongoing critical acclaim and has been recognized with Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, Callaway, Off-Broadway Alliance, and OBIE nominations and Awards.

For more information about any of Red Bull Theater's programs, visit www.RedBullTheater.com.

Veronica Falcón

Born in Mexico City. Veronica has worked as an actor for almost three decades in countless film, television and stage productions in Mexico, Europe & the US. Some of her latest credits are "Ozark," "Perry Mason," Disney's "Jungle Cruise" and"Queen of the South," amongst others. Veronica is also an accomplished choreographer; she choreographed several productions for Mexico's National Opera

Zachary Fine

Zachary Fine is thrilled to be back at Red Bull. Broadway: China Doll with Al Pacino, Off-Broadway: The Acting Company, Mint Theater Company, Fiasco, Red Bull, TFANA, Pearl, Bedlam. Regional (selected): The Alley, McCarter, Guthrie, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger (Helen Hayes Award), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Playmakers Repertory Company, Great River Shakespeare Festival. He is on faculty for the Fiasco Conservatory as a teacher of Clown/Games. TV/Film: "Person of Interest," "Blackbox," "New Amsterdam."

Emma Geer

is delighted to be making her Red Bull Theater debut! Off Broadway: World premiere of Prayer for the French Republic (MTC); NYC premiere of Mary Page Marlowe (Second Stage); World premiere of How To Transcend a Happy Marriage (Lincoln Center Theater); Hindle Wakes and The Price of Thomas Scott (Mint Theater Company). Regional: Dracula (Berkshire Theater Group); Hamlet and Macbeth (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Florida Rep); 4,000 Miles (Shakespeare & Company). Film and TV: In The Treetops (LA Film Festival); "Elementary," "The Good Fight," "Inside Amy Schumer." Graduate of UNCSA.

Cara Ricketts

played Rose in 20th Century Fox's "The Resident," Mary in the CBC/Netflix series "Anne with an E," winning the ACTRA Award for this performance. Guest appearances include WB's DC series "Titans" and BBC America's Emmy Award winning series "Orphan Black." Video game performance; Mickey in "Far Cry New Dawn" and Sayla in "Far Cry Primal." In theatre Cara has performed in both Canada and the US including several seasons as a leading lady at Canada's Stratford Festival, Isabella in Measure for Measure for Theatre for a New Audience in New York and Time and the Conways on Broadway.

Tony Roach

Broadway: Flying Over Sunset, My Fair Lady, Bright Star. Off-Broadway: The Liar (Classic Stage); She Stoops to Conquer, Salute to the Brave (TACT); The Men (Primary Stages). Regional: Shakespeare Theatre of DC: Affiliated Artist, The Importance of Being Earnest, All's Well That Ends Well, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Imaginary Invalid and three world premiere plays by David Ives; Hamlet (Hartford Stage), Barefoot in the Park (Dorset), Guys & Dolls (Goodspeed), Rich Girl (World Premiere, George St./Cleveland). Film/Television: Walk the Line, "Succession," "The Affair," "The Blacklist," "Law & Order," "Elementary." Education: ART/MXAT, Columbia University

Joshua David Robinson

is beyond stoked to be making their Red Bull debut. Recent credits include The Minutes (Broadway), The Unbelieving (Off-Broadway), and Secret Hour (Capital Rep). Joshua works extensively as a Voice Over artist, they have definitely tried to sell you something on TV, and as a Voice and Dialect coach. For the nerds out there, you can find Joshua in your ear holes anytime, anywhere on the When Crit Happens D&D podcast and talkshow.

Thomas Jay Ryan

Broadway: West Side Story, The Nap, The Crucible, In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play. Off-Broadway: Becky Nurse Of Salem, Eureka Day, Dance Nation, The Amateurs, 10 Out Of 12, The Lady From Dubuque, The Temperamentals, The Little Foxes, The Misanthrope, Venus. Films: Henry Fool (title role), Scenes From An Empty Church, Cryptozoo, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Burn Country, Strange Culture. Awards: Callaway and two Drama Desk Awards, Drama League and Gemini Award nominations.

Thom Sesma

recently appeared in A Man of No Importance at Classic Stage Company. Selected Off-Broadway: Letters of Suresh (Second Stage - Lortel Award Nomination), Unknown Soldier (Playwrights Horizons), Superhero (Second Stage), Pacific Overtures (Lortel Award nomination) and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (CSC), Sweeney Todd (Barrow Street Theatre), Discord (Primary Stages), Fruiting Bodies (Ma-Yi). Broadway/National Tours: The Times They Are A-Changin', Lion King, Titanic, Miss Saigon, Man of La Mancha, Search and Destroy, Nick & Nora. Regional: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Seattle Rep, McCarter Theatre, Yale Rep, Centre Stage, Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse, Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, and more. Selected TV: "Instinct" "The Good Wife" "Madam Secretary," "Gotham," "Jessica Jones." Instagram @thsesma.
Smith, David Ryan
David Ryan Smith. Broadway: One Man Two Guvnors, Passing Strange. Off-Broadway: Candida (Theater Row) Epiphany (Lincoln Center); Merry Wives, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry V, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Pericles (Public Theater); Where We Stand (Women's Project); Passage (Soho Rep); The Death of the Last Black Man... (Signature); Mankind (Playwrights Horizons); Gone Missing (City Center Encores!); The Glory of the World (BAM); Marat/Sade (Classical Theater of Harlem). Film: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Medal of Victory, Bee Season. Other Credits: Project Number One (Soho Rep: 2020/21 Season); Faculty, Playwrights Horizons Theater School/NYU.

Haynes Thigpen

Broadway: Dead Accounts, Misalliance. Red Bull: Revenger's Tragedy, Duchess of Malfi. TFANA: An Octoroon, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice; Playwright's Horizons: Our House, The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters; Cherry Lane: To the Bone; Yale Rep: Girls, The Black Monk; McCarter Theater: Hamlet; San Francisco Playhouse: The Aliens; The Old Globe: August: Osage County; Cal Shakes: Cymbeline; Cincinnati Playhouse: Dead Accounts; Shakespeare Theatre: Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night; Great Lakes Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. Film/TV: "Law & Order," "Law & Order Criminal Intent," "Horace & Pete's," "The Good Wife," "Elementary," Crashing, Terror Firmer, Blackbird.

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