Tracey Scott Wilson's BUZZER Opens Tonight at The Public Theater

The Public Theater presents the New York premiere of BUZZER, written by Tracey Scott Wilson. BUZZER marks the return of Wilson to The Public following her acclaimed The Good Negro in 2009 and The Story in 2003. Directed by Obie award winner Anne Kauffman, BUZZER will run in The Public's Martinson Theater through Sunday, April 26, with an official press opening tonight, April 8.

The cast for BUZZER features Grantham Coleman (Jackson), Tessa Ferrer (Suzy), and Michael Stahl-David (Don).

BUZZER is a darkly funny, intensely gripping new play about love, fear and the high costs of choosing who we make a home with, and where. Jackson left his tough Brooklyn neighborhood by winning a scholarship to Exeter, where he met Don, a play-hard rich boy who became his unlikely best friend. Now a Harvard-educated lawyer, Jackson's bought a place in the newly gentrifying area he grew up in. But Jackson's white girlfriend, Suzy, isn't so sure she belongs in a community "on the verge." When Don comes to crash with his old buddy and stay clean, his stories of the neighborhood's dangerous past collide with the growing disconnect between Jackson and Suzy, and the treacherous sexual and racial tensions waiting just beyond the door and demanding to be let in.

ANNE KAUFFMAN (Director) is an Obie Award-winning director whose production highlights include Somewhere Fun and God's Ear at Vineyard Theatre; Detroit and Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra at Playwrights Horizons; Belleville at New York Theatre Workshop, Yale Repertory Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Tales from My Parents' Divorce with the Civilians; This Wide Night at Naked Angels; The Thugs at Soho Rep. Kauffman is a recipient of the Joan and Joseph F. Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity, the Alan Schneider Director Award and a Lilly Award.

TRACEY SCOTT WILSON (Playwright) currently writes for "The Americans" on FX. Recent productions include Buzzer at the Goodman Theater, Pillsbury House Theater, and The Guthrie, as well as The Good Negro and The Story at The Public Theater and the Goodman Theater. Additional productions include Order My Steps for Cornerstone Theater's Black Faith/AIDS project in Los Angeles; and Exhibit #9, which was produced in New York City by New Perspectives Theatre and Theatre Outrageous; Leader of the People produced at New Georges Theatre; two ten-minute plays produced at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis; a ten minute play produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Tracey has had readings at the New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage Theatre, The Public Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival and Soho Theatre Writers Centre in London. Ms. Wilson holds a Master's degree in English Literature from Temple University.

GRANTHAM COLEMAN (Jackson) has performed in The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It. His additional Off-Broadway credits include Choir Boy; One Night; and We Are Proud to Present... He has been seen regionally in Romeo and Juliet, and he has appeared on FX's "The Americans."

TESSA FERRER (Suzy). Ferrer's theater credits include Brilliant Faces, Proof, The House in Illium Valley, Turning, Carpe Tunnel, The Journey of the Fifth Horse, and others. Her film credits include Go For Sisters, Abducted, The Visiting Hour, Nobody's Night, and Succession. Her television credits include CBS's "Extant," and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."

MICHAEL STAHL-DAVID (Don) has been seen in Roundabout's The Overwhelming. His film and television credits include Take Care, In Your Eyes, The Congress, Cloverfield, "New Girl," "Person of Interest," "Numb3rs," "Mercy," and "The Black Donnelly's."

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

To post a comment, you must register and login.