Sara Ramirez and Keith David to Star in Reading of Desire Under The Elms

Sara Ramirez and Keith David will star in a reading of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms on Monday, July 11 at 7pm at the East 13th Street Theater (136 East 13th Street). Directed by Benna Sato Ambush, the reading is being presented by the Vineyard Theatre Community of Artists. The cast will also include Duane Boutté, Leland Gantt, and Johnny Lee Davenport.

Ambush has re-set the play in 1850’s Rhode Island on a farm owned by the rigid, pious, and lonely Ephraim Cabot (played by David), who is a dark-skinned black man in this interpretation. Ephraim’s repressed, workhorse eldest sons, Simeon and Peter, were born of Ephraim’s first marriage to a dark-skinned black woman. Eben, the third son, is the offspring of Ephraim’s controversial second marriage to a white woman, whose land he inherited upon her death. Ephraim’s new wife, Abbie (played by Ramirez), is a woman of “undetermined” nationality.

Ramirez won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot; her other credits include A Class Act and The Capeman. David has starred on Broadway in Jelly’s Last Jam, Hedda Gabler, and Seven Guitars.

Admission to the July 11 reading is free but seating is limited. To make a reservation, e-mail sstern@vineyardtheatre.org or call 212-353-3366, ext. 215.