Goldsberry, Cariani, Stephenson, Johnson Added to Verona Cast

Renée Elise Goldsberry, John Cariani, Don Stephenson, and Mel Johnson Jr. have been added to the cast of The Public Theater’s second Shakespeare in the Park show of the summer: a new production of the Broadway musical adaptation of Two Gentlemen of Verona, scheduled to run August 16-September 11 at the Delacorte Theater.

As previously reported, Norm Lewis and Oscar Isaac will respectively take on the roles of Valentine and Proteus, the titular gentlemen of the show. Rosario Dawson, who plays Mimi in the upcoming film version of Rent, will portray Julia, lover of Proteus. Megan Lawrence will play Julia’s maid Lucetta. Paolo Montalban has been cast as Églamour and David Costabile will appear as Launce.

Goldsberry, best known for her recurring role of attorney Evangeline Williamson on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, will play Silvia. Cariani, who will play Speed, was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for his performance as Motel the Tailor in Fiddler on the Roof and replaced Jason Biggs in Modern Orthodox earlier this year. Stephenson, cast as Thurio, has been seen on Broadway in such shows as Titanic, Dracula, the Musical, and The Producers. Johnson will play the Duke of Milan; his Broadway credits include On the Twentieth Century, The Rink, and The Lion King.

Adapted from the Shakespeare play by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, Two Gentlemen of Verona has lyrics by Guare and music by Galt MacDermot. The original Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Musical and ran for more than 650 performances; the Delacorte production will be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.