Trinity Rep Announces Casting for 2017-2018 Season

Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the artistic leadership of Richard L. Bready Artistic Director Curt Columbus, announces initial casting for its robust 2017-2018 season.

Columbus and his team have put together a season that focuses on the conversations and relationships we share with one another - as neighbors, family, co-workers, and fellow members of this community. In addition to the roles announced today, each play will also feature other Acting Company members-pillars of our Providence community-as well as Brown/Trinity Rep MFA acting students, and guest actors.

"Trinity Repertory Company is immensely lucky to host the talents of our dedicated Acting Company. I'm excited to see our actors tackle iconic roles like Willy Loman, Scrooge, and Othello, build new characters in Into the Breeches! and elicit laughter and heart in Native Gardens and Ragtime," said artistic director Curt Columbus. "We are also thrilled to be welcoming another great talent, Bejna Kay Thomas, to our stage in Skeleton Crew, and to have Daniel Duque-Estrada returning in Native Gardens."

Beginning the season will be Acting Company member Stephen Berenson in the legendary role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Brian McEleney. The linchpin of Miller's great tragedy, Willy Loman is a tired businessman hopelessly working to retain the American Dream for his family. Performed in a rotating repertory schedule, guest actor Benja Kay Thomas is set to lead in the role of Faye in the production of Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, another poignant examination of the American Dream set in 2008 Detroit directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene. These powerful shows will run in rep September 28 - November 26, 2017.

In a special 40th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol directed by Acting Company members Angela Brazil and Stephen Thorne, Acting Company member Joe Wilson, Jr. will star as the miserly businessman who rekindles his love of Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge. New England's favorite holiday tradition is perfect for the whole family and runs November 9 - December 31, 2017.

Ringing in the new year in George Brant's modern comedy Into the Breeches! will be Acting Company members Phyllis Kay as Celeste Fielding and Anne Scurria as Maggie Dalton, two at-home women committed to putting on an all-female production of Henry V I while their husbands are fighting in World War II-whether they have the experience to do so or not. Taibi Magar will direct this moving comedy written specifically for the Acting Company and their unique talents. It will run January 25 - February 25, 2018.

In a story of friendship and betrayal, love and jealousy, Acting Company member Jude Sandy takes on the titular role in William Shakespeare's Othello, directed by Whitney White. Playing opposite him will be Acting Company member Rebecca Gibel as Othello's devoted wife Desdemona. The profound tragedy, in a stripped down retelling, will run February 15 - March 18, 2018.

In the sparkling comedy of good intentions and bad manners, Acting Company member Timothy Crowe and guest actor Daniel Duque-Estrada lead Karen Zacarias' Native Gardens as next-door neighbors Frank and Pablo fighting over their fences and land. The "bright, witty, and clever" (Cincinnati Enquirer) play will be directed by Christie Vela and runs April 5 - May 6, 2018.

Closing out the season April 26 - May 27 is the Tony-award winning musical Ragtime featuring Rachael Warren as Mother and Mia Ellis as Sarah, directed by artistic director Curt Columbus. The musical by Terrence McNally, music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, based on the novel of E.L. Doctorow tells the tale of an upper-class white mother, a Jewish immigrant, and a bold African American musician from Harlem intersecting at the turn of the century.

Subscription packages for the 2017-2018 season are now available, including the popular 6-Play full season package for the best seats and prices, as well as an opening night package and Flex Pass of up to 10 tickets that can be mixed and matched throughout the season to create a custom experience. Subscriber benefits include free ticket exchanges, parking and dining discounts, and invitations to special backstage events. Packages begin at only $114 for six plays.

Subscribing now also provides immediate access to discounted pre-sale tickets for A Christmas Carol. The Trinity Rep box office is located at 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI, 02903, and can be reached by calling (401) 351-4242.

Trinity Rep's 2017-2018 season is sponsored by Ocean State Job Lot and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Southwest Airlines is the official airline of Trinity Rep.

The State Theater of Rhode Island, Trinity Repertory Company is now in its 53rd season. Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring one of the last permanent resident acting companies in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of approximately 110,000. Since 1963, the theater has produced 67 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and trained hundreds of new actors and directors through its MFA program.

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