Rashad, Rubin-Vega, Santiago, Murphy, James, et. al. Set for LCT’s Bernarda Alba

Phylicia Rashad, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Saundra Santiago, Sally Murphy, and Nikki M. James head the cast of Bernarda Alba, a new musical by Michael John LaChiusa based on Federico Garcìa Lorca’s classic play The House of Bernarda Alba. Directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, the show will run February 11-April 9 at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater and will open officially on March 9.

Bernarda Alba tells the story of a newly widowed mother (to be played by Rashad) who enforces her iron will on her unhappy daughters. Also cast in the musical are Yolande Bavan, Candy Buckley, Laura Shoop, and Nancy Ticotin. The creative team includes Christopher Barreca (sets), Toni Leslie-James (costumes), Stephen Strawbridge (lighting), Michael Starobin (orchestrations), and Deborah Abramson (musical direction).

LaChiusa is currently represented Off-Broadway by See What I Wanna See at The Public Theater. His other musicals include Marie Christine, Hello Again, First Lady Suite, and The Wild Party. Daniele is the director of the soon-to-open Broadway show Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life; she previously directed Marie Christine, Dessa Rose, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, all for Lincoln Center.

Rashad won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun and received a 2005 Tony nomination for Gem of the Ocean. She has also been seen on Broadway in Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods, and Dreamgirls, and is well known for her work in TV’s The Cosby Show and Cosby.

Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi in Rent, was last seen on Broadway in Anna in the Tropics; she received Tony nominations for both roles. Santiago’s Broadway credits include Nine and A View from the Bridge, and she has starred in the TV series Miami Vice, Guiding Light, and One Life to Live. Murphy appeared on Broadway in The Grapes of Wrath, Carousel, The Wild Party, and Fiddler on the Roof, while James was most recently seen as Lorraine in All Shook Up.