PTC Presents William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT

Pioneer Theatre Company presents William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, running Friday, March 30 through Saturday, April 14, 2018.

After a shipwreck, grief-stricken but self-reliant Viola washes up on the shores of 1812 New Orleans. Disguising herself as a boy, she becomes the confidant of Orsino, who sends her to woo in his name the beautiful but aloof noblewoman Olivia - who promptly falls in love with the "boy" she believes Viola to be! Filled with music, merry madness and improbable passions, Twelfth Night has long been one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies.

The love triangle of Orsino, Olivia and Viola will be performed by Shakespeare veterans A.K. MURTADHA, Kelsey Rainwater and GRACE MORRISON.

A.K. MURTADHA plays Orsino after most recently performing in The Mountaintop at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, All the Way, The Great Society and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at Asolo Repertory, and Intimate Apparel and Macbeth at Ensemble Theatre. Some of his TV and film credits include "NCIS: LA," "Raising the Bar," "The Unit," "Medium," "All My Children," "Numb3rs" and the Amazon film 8989 Redstone.

Kelsey Rainwater plays Olivia in her PTC debut. She has appeared in productions of The Three Musketeers, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Balm in Gilead, Hamlet, Macbeth and others. She graduated from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts and Shakespeare's Globe.

GRACE MORRISON plays Viola in her first PTC role. Based in Los Angeles, she holds an MFA in acting from UC Irvine. Her favorite regional credits include Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Horatio in Hamlet with New Swan Shakespeare Festival. New York City-based ZACH FIFER plays Viola's twin Sebastian in his first Utah production.

J. OMAR HANSEN, David Andrew Macdonald and Richard E. Waits bring their decades of experience in theatre, on Broadway and off, to play the Captain, Malvolio and Feste, respectively.

Richard E. Waits plays Feste. Waits began his theatre career dancing with Ginger Rogers and has since appeared in productions of The Color Purple, The View UpStairs, The Whole Megillah, The Wizard of Oz, The Full Monty, Showboat and others. He has also the written the book and score for the one-man show Mama Rose.

J. OMAR HANSEN plays the Captain. He has been a university professor for 25 years, and his performance credits include Bielzy and Gottfried, Oliver!, Ballad of a Meadow, A Christmas Carol, 1776 and The Foreigner. As a playwright, he has had his plays produced across the country.

David Andrew Macdonald plays Malvolio. On Broadway, he has appeared in Skylight, Rocky, Mamma Mia!, Coram Boy and Two Shakespearean Actors. He has also been seen in the National Tour of An Inspector Calls and regional productions in dozens of cities.

The remaining principal roles are played by Equity actors DANIEL BEECHER (Antonio), Freddie Bennett (Fabian), Kenajuan Bentley (Sir Toby Belch), SUSANNA FLORENCE (Maria) and CONNER MARX (Sir Andrew Aguecheek).

The ensemble includes

Guest Director Larry Carpenter returns to PTC to direct. Previously, he directed Pioneer Theatre Company productions of Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Pirates of Penzance. He received a Tony nomination for Starmites! and won a Drama Critics' Circle award for Roundabout Theatre Company's Privates on Parade. For television, he has directed numerous shows and has received multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.

G.W. "SKIP" MERCIER is the production's scenic and costume designer, returning after designing the set and costumes of In the Heights in 2012. In New York, he designed for Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass, which received a Tony nomination and two Drama Desk nominations. He has also worked with Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Lighting design is by Kirk Bookman. Bookman's New York credits include Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist and The Divine Sister. He most recently designed at PTC for Newsies and In the Heights - Concert Version.

Daniel Pelzig is the guest choreographer and returns to PTC for his third production. Original music is composed by Scott Killian. University of Utah Professor SARAH SHIPPOBOTHAM is the text coach.

Fight choreography is by PTC Resident Fight Choreographer CHRIS DUVAL. Hair and makeup design is by PTC Resident Hair and Makeup Designer AMANDA FRENCH; sound design is by PTC Resident Sound Designer KATE WECKER.

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