Seattle Rep's TWO TRAINS RUNNING Opens Tonight

Seattle Repertory Theatre today announced the full ensemble cast of Two Trains Running, August Wilson's slice-of-life portrait of a defining moment in American history.

Produced in association with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Two Trains Running is set to run on the Bagley Wright stage January 12 - February 11, 2018 (opening night is January 17, 2018), and tickets are on sale now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at 206.443.2222 and online at SeattleRep.org.

Complete casting for Two Trains Running includes Eugene Lee as Memphis Lee; Nicole Lewis as Risa; William Hall, Jr. as West; Carlton Byrd as Sterling; Reginald Andre Jackson as Wolf; David Emerson Toney as Holloway; and Frank Riley III as Hambone.

In Two Trains Running,there's a new President in the White House, and racial tensions are on the rise. No, it's not 2017, it's 1969. At a critical moment in the Civil Rights Movement, Memphis is forced to consider selling his restaurant to the city of Pittsburgh as urban planning eats away at his beloved neighborhood. Featuring a captivating slice-of-life cast of characters, Two Trains Running is celebrated playwright August Wilson's portrait of a defining moment in American history.

Making his Seattle Rep debut is Eugene Lee as Memphis Lee. Lee has performed with theatre companies around the country. He has a deep commitment to the works of August Wilson, having worked on the Broadway production of Gem of the Ocean and performed in eight of Wilson's 10 cycle plays and recently in August Wilson's final autobiographical one-man play, How I Learned What I Learned. In addition to his theatre credits, Lee has years of playwriting, film, and television credits as well, including Coach Carter, "NYPD Blue," and more. Carlton Byrd also debuts at Seattle Rep as Sterling. His select theatre credits include Sunset Baby (Theater Works), Bad Apples (ACT Theatre), Antebellum (Woolly Mammoth Theatre) - with select television credits including "Castle," "Blue Bloods,"and "Law & Order: SVU," and films including Life of a King,Woodlawn, and Holding Patterns. William Hall, Jr. will portray West - he is also a film and stage actor, and has been involved in acting since the early 1970s with select local theatre credits including To Kill a Mockingbird at Intiman and Othello at Seattle Shakespeare Company. Local actorReginald Andre Jackson joins this cast as Wolf after last being seen at Seattle Rep in Well. Seattle audiences may also recognize him from other Seattle stages including Seattle Shakespeare Company, ACT, Book-It, amongst others. Broadway and television film talent Nicole Lewis joins this cast as Risa. Her Broadway credits include Rent (Joanne), the Original Companies of Hair(2009 Tony Award Best Revival), and Lennon, with a number of Off-Broadway and regional credits to her name as well. Additionally, she has been seen on television in "Blue Bloods," "A Gifted Man," "Law & Order SVU," "Mercy," "As the World Turns," "Naked Brothers Band," and in the feature filmLondon Betty. Frank Riley III is set to portray Hambone - his regional theatre credits include A Raisin in the Sun at Arena Stage; To Kill a Mockingbird as Rev. Sykes in Alexandria, V.A; Cinderella The New Musical in Alexandria, V.A; and Dead Man Walking at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., amongst others. He also appeared in the Amazon TV series "DailyBread." Finally, long-time stage performer David Emerson Toney rounds out this cast as Holloway. His select stage credits include Julie Taymor's Broadway and World Tour production of Juan Darién; King Lear at Kansas City Rep; and The Piano Lesson at Arena Stage, amongst many others.

The creative team includes Juliette Carrillo (director); Misha Kachman (scenic design); Ivania Stack (costume design); Sherrice Mojgani (lighting design); David Molina (sound design); Cristine A. Reynolds (stage manager), Erin B. Zatloka (stage manager).

ABOUT August Wilson (PLAYWRIGHT, April 27, 1945-October 2, 2005)

August Wilson authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, andRadio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade by decade, over the course of the 20th century. His plays have been produced at regional theatres across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut at Seattle Repertory Theatre in his one man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson's works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987) and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain's Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, andRadio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation ofThe Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson's early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming, and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theatre located at245 West 52nd Street The August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson posthumously received the Dramatists Guild Award for Lifetime Achievement; was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame; is the chosen namesake for Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center for African American Culture; as well as having a portion of Seattle Center's campus renamed "August Wilson Way." Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and lived in Seattle, Washington, at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

Seattle Rep was founded in 1963 and is currently led by Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann. One of America's premier non-profit resident theatres, Seattle Repertory Theatre has achieved international renown for its consistently high production and artistic standards, and was awarded the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. With an emphasis on entertaining plays of true dramatic and literary worth, Seattle Rep produces a season of plays along with educational programs, new play workshops, and special presentations.

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