SKELETON CREW Announces Cast, Director, And Crew!

ArtsWest will open the 2018/19 season on September 20 with SKELETON CREW, the Seattle premiere of Dominique Morisseau's powerful final entry in her celebrated Detroit Cycle. Performances will run Thursday through Sunday until October 14.

In the depths of the 2008 Great Recession, rumors of a shutdown start to spread at one of Detroit's last auto stamping plants, forcing a tightknit family of workers to face a devastating question: what will you sacrifice to survive? In the spirit of August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle, award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau's bold and compassionate new play lays bare the trials of the human spirit with verve, wit, and an electrifying voice of uncommon poetry.

Since premiering in 2016, SKELETON CREW has been produced to critical acclaim across the country, but the ArtsWest production will be its first time seen on a Seattle stage. ArtsWest Artistic Director Mathew Wright chose SKELETON CREW to begin the 18/19 BEYOND IDEAS season - which focuses on the "heroic effort" necessary to connect in an age of dissonance and disconnection - because of Morisseau's unique ability to illustrate the bridges that connect her characters across deep, painful divides. "Dominique Morisseau's writing is always stunning," added Wright. "It's an incredible combination of realistic dialogue with a beautiful poetic sensibility. Those two things operate simultaneously in her work, which I think is a recipe for real magic in the theatre."

Jay O'Leary, an Afro-Latina director, actor, and teaching artist, will direct SKELETON CREW. The cast will be led by Tracy Michelle Hughes (WEDDING BAND, Intiman), with Allen Miller III (f-ing 'A', UW Theatre), Charles Wright, and Allyson Brown (MILK LIKE SUGAR). Returning to ArtsWest from the design team are Stage Manager Malie Fujii (PEERLESS), Ryan Dunn (THE WHO & THE WHAT), Scenic Designer Burton Yuen (4000 MILES), Properties Master Robin McCartney (MOTHERS AND SONS) and Sound Designer Stephon Jamaa'l Dorsey (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH). Rounding out the creative team is Costume Designer Sadiqua Iman, making their ArtsWest debut. Cast Tracy Michelle Hughes - Faye Allen Miller III - Reggie Charles Wright - Dez Allyson Brown - Shanita Creative Team Jay O'Leary - Director Malie Fujii - Stage Manager Ryan Dunn - Lighting Designer Sadiqua Iman - Costume Designer Burton Yuen - Scenic Designer Robin MacCartney - Properties Manager Stephon Jamaa'l Dorsey - Sound Designer

SKELETON CREW plays September 20 - October 14, 2018 at ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave SW, Seattle WA 98116. Tickets ($20-$42) available online at www.artswest.org, by phone at 206-938-0339, or at the box office Thursday through Saturday, 2-7:30 p.m. ArtsWest is a vibrant center for both performing and visual arts located in the West Seattle Junction. This 149-seat theatre provides a unique setting for audiences and artists as stories of human emotion unfold in an intimate space. Winner of the American Theatre Wing's 2012 National Theatre Company Award, ArtsWest has produced such diverse work as AMERICAN IDIOT, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, 2016's critically acclaimed production of Henrik Ibsen's GHOSTS, and a celebrated production of AN OCTOROON earlier this year. ArtsWest produces artistic events that provoke conversation, incite the imagination, and use live theater as a powerful agent of change. www.artswest.org.

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