Butler, Maynard, Freeman to Head Cast of Vineyard’s Miracle Brothers

Kerry Butler, Cheryl Freeman, Tyler Maynard, Karen Olivo, and Anika Larsen will head the 12-member cast of Kirsten Childs’ new musical Miracle Brothers, which will begin performances at the Vineyard Theater on August 25. Tina Landau is set to direct the show, which will also star Devin Richards and Darrell Moultrie. Some roles are yet to be cast.

Miracle Brothers is the story of two young brothers in 17th-century Brazil — one black and one white, one a slave and the other free — who are determined to find a new way to live. The show will have choreography by Mark Dendy, scenic design by G.W. Mercier, costume design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Scott Zielinksi, sound design by Brett Jarvis, projection design by Jan Hartley, orchestrations by Daryl Waters, and musical direction by Fred Carl.

Butler has starred on Broadway in Hairspray and Little Shop of Horrors. Freeman’s Broadway credits include The Civil War and Play On!. Maynard is currently appearing as Mark in Altar Boyz at Dodger Stages. Olivo is a cast member of the-soon-to-close Brooklyn The Musical. Larsen is best known for her work in the Off-Broadway production of Zanna, Don’t!

Childs received an Obie Award, a Lucille Lortel Award nomination, and three Drama Desk Award nominations for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, produced by Playwrights Horizons. She is the first recipient of the Vineyard’s Kitty Carlisle Hart Musical Theatre commission, for which she created Miracle Brothers.

Landau previously worked at the Vineyard as the writer and director of Dream True; she is also the co-author (with composer Adam Guettel) of Floyd Collins. Her directing credits include the Broadway revival of Bells Are Ringing and the Steppenwolf productions of The Ballad of Little Jo and The Time of Your Life.