Walker et al. Lead Public Theatre's BLOODY, BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON; Opens 3/23

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced complete casting today for BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, the critically acclaimed rock musical that returns to The Public after a sold-out run last spring as part of The Public's Public LAB season. A co-production with Center Theatre Group and in association with Les Freres Corbusier, BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON is written and directed by Alex Timbers and features music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Previews begin on Tuesday, March 23 and will continue through Sunday, April 25 with an official press opening on Tuesday, April 6.

A brash indie rock musical about the country we live in and the leaders we choose. BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON audaciously redefines America's seventh president, the man who invented the Democratic Party and doubled the size of our nation, with a raucous blend of outrageous comedy, anarchic theatricality, and an infectious emo rock score.

The BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON cast features River Aguirre as Lyncoya; James Barry as Male Soloist; Michael Crane as Clay/Blackhawk; Michael Dunn as Calhoun; Greg Hildreth as Red Eagle; Jeff Hiller as John Quincy Adams; Lucas Near-Verbrugghe as Martin Van Buren; Maria Elena Ramirez as Rachel; Kate Cullen Roberts as Elizabeth; Ben Steinfeld as Monroe; Benjamin Walker as Andrew Jackson; Colleen Werthmann as The Storyteller; and Emily Young as Female Soloist.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON features scenic design by Donyale Werle, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Justin Townsend, and sound design by Bart Fasbender.

Alex Timbers (Writer/Director) is the Artistic Director of award-winning theatre company Les Freres Corbusier. His New York credits include Guttenberg! The Musical! (Drama Desk nomination - Best Director of a Musical; the Actors' Playhouse), A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant (OBIE Award; New York Theatre Workshop; two Garland Awards - Best Director and Best Musical; Powerhouse Theatre, Santa Monica), underground (BAM; International Tour), Hell House (Drama Desk nomination - Unique Theatrical Experience; St. Ann's Warehouse), Boozy ("Ten Best of 2005" - Daily News, Time Out New York). He has participated in workshops for Disney Theatricals, Playwrights Horizons, New York Stage & Film and been honored with fellowships by the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Drama League, and Sundance Theatre Lab.

Michael Friedman (Music and Lyrics) has composed music for The Communist Dracula Pageant, [I Am] Nobody's Lunch, Lysistrata, Marat/Sade, Idiots Karamazov, and The Merchant of Venice. He wrote music and lyrics for the Civilian's This Beautiful City, [I Am] Nobody's Lunch, Gone Missing, and Canard, Canard, Goose?; as well as Saved, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, In the Bubble, The Brand New Kid, God's Ear, and The Blue Demon. With Steve Cosson, he co-authored the 2008 Public LAB production Paris Commune. He has composed for Playwrights Horizons, NYTW, Roundabout, Second Stage, Soho Rep, Theatre for a New Audience, Signature, The Acting Company, Hartford Stage, Humana Festival, Kennedy Center, Berkeley Rep, Williamstown Festival, London's Soho and Gate Theatres, and the Edinburgh Festival. He is a Founding Associate Artist of the Civilians, an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop, a MacDowell Fellow, a Princeton University Hodder Fellow, and the winner of a 2009 L.A. Drama Critics' Award and an Obie for sustained excellence.

River Aguirre (Lyncoya) most recently played Joe Thibodeaux in the Gallery Players' production of Caroline, or Change. His Florida theater credits include Chip in Beauty and the Beast and Charlie Brown in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.

James Barry (Male Soloist). His New York credits include Sive at the Irish Rep and JB at 78th Street Theatre Lab. In Chicago, he appeared in The Full Monty at Drury Lane and Two By Friel After Chekhov at Irish Rep.

Michael Crane (Clay/Blackhawk) was last seen off-Broadway in Doris To Darlene: A Cautionary Valentine at Playwrights Horizons. His regional credits include Hell Meets Henry Halfway at Pig Iron Theatre Company, Rat in the Skull at Berkshire Theater Company, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Weston Playhouse.

Michael Dunn (Calhoun) was last seen onstage in The Evidence Room's production of Peace Squad Goes 99. His television credits include "Without A Trace," "Monk," "The Shield," and "Boomtown."

Greg Hildreth (Red Eagle). His New York theater credits include Dance Dance Revolution (Les Freres Corbusier), Church (Young Jean Lee's Theatre Company), and Hell House (Les Freres Corbusier). Regionally, he has appeared in Peter and the Starcatchers (La Jolla Playhouse), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Center Theatre Group), and The Corn is Green, The Front Page, Romeo and Juliet, and Anything Goes at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Jeff Hiller (John Quincy Adams) won an Individual Performance Award for The Children and appeared in The Awesome ‘80s Prom, Silence!, and Showgirls. He has been seen on "30 Rock," "Late Night," "Guiding Light," and "Starved," and teaches and performs with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Lucas Near-Verbrugghe (Martin Van Buren) made his Public Theater debut in the 2006 Shakespeare in the Park production of Macbeth. His other New York theater credits include The Ritz on Broadway, BOOM! (dir. by Alex Timbers), STRETCH (Ohio), and The Most Excellent Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (CSC), which he also performed in Florence, Italy.

MARIA ELENA RAMIREZ (Rachel) last appeared at The Public in The Skin of Our Teeth. Off-Broadway, she has performed in The Thugs (Soho Rep), Living Out (Second Stage), and Princess Turandot (Blue Light). Her regional appearances include Cardenio (A.R.T.), Fêtes de la Nuit (Berkeley Rep), Anna in the Tropics (Seattle Rep), and Blood Wedding (Guthrie Theater).

Kate Cullen Roberts (Elizabeth) performed in Party Come Here, Wing It, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Paradise Now, The Witching Hour, Tumor, and Mom & the Razor Blades at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her television credits include "Law & Order: CI," "Totally 4 Teens," and "The Rebound."

Ben Steinfeld (Monroe) has been seen at Center Theatre Group, Portland Center Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bread Loaf, SpeakEasy Stage Co., and Trinity Rep, where he appeared in 10 plays. He is the co-founder of Fiasco Theater Company.

Benjamin Walker (Andrew Jackson) appeared on Broadway in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Inherit the Wind. His off-Broadway credits include workshops of Bye Bye Birdie and Threepenny Opera for Roundabout, Spring Awakening for Lincoln Center, and Arrangements at the Atlantic. He appeared in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Windermere's Fan at the Williamstown Theater Festival, and in the films The War Boys, Flags of Our Fathers, The Notorious Bettie Page, and Kinsey.

Colleen Werthmann (The Storyteller). Her recent New York appearances include Gone Missing (Barrow Street); Miss Witherspoon and Recent Tragic Events (Playwrights Horizons); The Mistakes Madeline Made (Naked Angels); Suitcase (Soho Rep); Light Raise the Roof (New York Theater Workshop); and Blue Surge (Public). She is a founding member of Elevator Repair Service and The Civilians.

Emily Young (Female Soloist) recently appeared as the Queen and Belaria in the Access Theater/Fiasco production of Cymbeline; in June, she will play Viola in that company's production of Twelfth Night. She has appeared with the North Carolina and Illinois Shakespeare Festivals and played Juliet, Mercutio, Paris and more in Theatre Breaking Through Barriers's production of Romeo and Juliet.

All tickets for BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON are $60 with the exception of Saturday evenings, which are $70. Single tickets are on sale now at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at the Public Theater box office.

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street. The performance schedule for BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON may be obtained at www.publictheater.org.

The Public Theatre (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 149 Obies, 40 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 52 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; and, most recently, the current Tony Award-winning revival of Hair.

For more information, visit www.publictheater.org.

 

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