California Shakespeare Theater Closes 45th Season With MACBETH

California Shakespeare Theater closes its 2019 summer season with Macbeth by William Shakespeare and directed by Victor Malana Maog playing September 18 through October 13, 2019 at the Bruns Amphitheater.

A drum, a drum, Macbeth doth come! Not seen on the Bruns stage since 2010, Macbeth returns in a striking new production by visionary director Victor Malana Maog. "This year has marked something of a homecoming for Victor, who was born and raised in Union City," says Artistic Director Eric Ting. "A dear friend, I've long admired his great love of language and of life, and the courage with which he navigates the light and dark of the human condition in his work. I'm so thrilled to see what he creates in collaboration with this ensemble of amazing actors."

"In these times of dubious morality, vile actions, and cold-hearted events, it seems apt to present the madness, brilliance and unmooring of Macbeth," says Maog. "Our ten-actor cast led by Rey Lucas and Liz Sklar, will enter the story through the dark mind of our would-be king: the haunted and paranoid spaces between reality and sleep, logic and craze, earth and the afterlife. We hope to sweep the audience into the lusts within the play: for power, glory, revenge, and an ever elusive completeness."

Starring in the title role, Rey Lucas is known for recurring roles on NBC's Manifest, Hulu's The First, CBS's Blue Bloods, NBC's Believe, and Netflix's Luke Cage. Joining Lucas (he/him; The Rainmaker on Broadway, Seven Spots in the Sun at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Exit Strategy at Primary Stages/Off-Broadway, Water By the Spoonful at The Old Globe, Our Town and The Old Man and the Sea at Long Wharf Theatre) are multiple Cal Shakes veterans including Liz Sklar as Lady Macbeth (she/her; Cal Shakes Credits include Othello and The Tempest; other credits include Men on Boats and A Christmas Carol at ACT, The Wolves, Wink, Anne Boleyn, and many others at Marin Theatre Company, Trouble Cometh and Becky Shaw at SF Playhouse, The Real Thing at Aurora Theatre Company), Jomar Tagatac as Banquo (he/him; previous Cal Shakes credits include: War of the Roses, Everybody, Life is a Dream, and As You Like It; other credits include: The Language Archive at TheatreWorks, Rhinoceros, A Christmas Carol, Vietgone and Hamlet at ACT, The King of Yees and You Meant to Do Me No Harm at SF Playhouse, and others around the Bay and regionally), Joseph Patrick O'Malley as Malcolm (he/him; previous Cal Shakes credits include: War of the Roses, Henry IV part 1 & 2, Nicholas Nickleby, King Lear; other credits include: Creditors and A Number at Aurora Theatre Company, Measure for Measure and Monty Python's Spamalot at Marin Shakespeare Company, Mrs. Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley at Marin Theatre Company, The Liar at Center Rep, among others around the Bay and regionally), Rotimi Agbabiaka as Angus (he/him; previous Cal Shakes credits include: House of Joy and A Raisin in the Sun; Other credits include:Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 2, & 3 at ACT and the Yale Repertory Theatre, Black Rider at Shotgun Players, Caesar Maximus at We Players, among others around the Bay), Catherine Luedtke as Ross (she/her; previous Cal Shakes credits include: War of the Roses and Pygmalion; other credits include: The Jungle at The Curran, Revolt She Said. Revolt Again at Crowded Fire where she is a resident artist, among others around the Bay and abroad), Warren David Keith as Duncan/Porter (previous Cal Shakes credits include: As You Like It, Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, and Winter's Tale; other credits include: WIdower's House and The First Grade at Aurora Theatre Company, The Christians and The Nether at SF Playhouse, among others around the Bay), and Lyndsy Kail as Donalbain/Lady Macduff (she/her; previous Cal Shakes credits include performing as understudy for The Tempest; other credits include: The Liar, Don't Dress for Dinner, and The Underpants at Center Rep, We Are Proud To, Memory Stick, and Buried Child at San Jose Stage, among others around the Bay and regionally).

Making their Cal Shakes debuts are Dane Troy as Macduff (he/him; Native Son and Jazz at Marin Theatre Company, Cardboard Piano at NCTC; Right On! at Horizon Theater in Atlanta, and Tamer of Horses at Aurora Theatre in Atlanta), and Anna Ishida as Lennox/Fleance (she/her; The Importance of Being Earnest at Aurora Theatre Company, Water By the Spoonful at TheatreWorks, Mr Burns: a Post Electric Play at ACT/The Guthrie Theater, and It Can't Happen Here at Berkeley Rep, among other credits around the Bay and regionally).

Macbeth's creative team includes Scenic Designer Adam Rigg (they/their; previous credits include: Soho Rep, Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, New York Theater Workshop, LA Opera, Theater An Der WIen Austria, Signature Theater Company, Guthrie Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Teatro Municipal Brazil, Williamstown Theater Festival, Yale Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, a??Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center,a?? Berkeley Repertory Theater, Theatre for a New Audiencea??), Costume Designer Melissa Torchia (she/her; previous Cal Shakes credits include: As You Like It, You Never Can Tell, King Lear, and Verona Project; other credits include: Court Theatre, American Blues Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, SF Playhouse, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre), Lighting Designer Russell H. Champa (he/him; previous Cal Shakes credits include: Othello, Winter's Tale, Titus Andronicus, among others; other credits include: Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, Second Stage Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Stage and Film, and The Juilliard School, Huntington Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, The Wilma Theater, Trinity Repertory Company, Mark Taper Forum, and The Kennedy Center), Sound Designer Elizabeth Rhodes (she/her; has worked over 200 productions including the world premieres of Steve Martin's adaptation of The Underpants, John Patrick Shanley's Dirty Story and Sailor Song; other credits include: Signature Theatre, Alley Theatre, The Old Globe, Public Lab, LAByrinth Theatre Company, George Street Playhouse, and Classic Stage Company), Fight Director Dave Maier (he/him; 14th season with Cal Shakes, won 2018 TBA award for outstanding fight director for Quixote Nuevo; just finished choreographing House of Joy, choreographs at theaters all over the Bay), and Movement Choreographer Talli Jackson (he/him; member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company from 2009 - 2019; worked as a freelance artist with The Francesca Harper Project, Paul Matteson, Erick Montes, Joseph Poulson, and The Vanaver Caravan; work has been shown at FABnyc, Tisch School for the Arts, ODC, SAFEhouse Arts, and The Milkbar).

Victor Malana Maog (he/him; director), named one of American Theatre magazine's "People to Watch," is making his Cal Shakes debut. He has directed and developed work at ACT, The Magic, The Public Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Hartford Stage, Signature Theatre Company, Mabou Mines, Drury Lane Theatre, Second Generation Productions (2g), The Lark, New Dramatists, Classic Stage Company, ABC/Disney, and large-scale stage shows, live events, and spectaculars at Disney Parks Live Entertainment. In 2004, Maog was one of six directors in the nation to receive a place at the National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group (TCG) Career Development Program for Theatre Directors. He is the board president of The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists. He has also been awarded the Van Lier Directing Fellowship, Altvater Fellowship at Cornerstone Theater Company, and the Presidential Award with the Theatre Arts Project, and was recently chosen as an inaugural TCG SPARK Leadership Program leader. He has a BA in global leadership and performance studies from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Single tickets for Macbeth range from $20 to $94 with discounts available for seniors, youth, students, military families, persons age 30 and under, and groups. Prices, dates, titles, and artists are subject to change. For information or to charge tickets by phone with VISA, MasterCard, or American Express, call the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666. Additional information and online ticketing are available at www.calshakes.org.

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