Harris Yulin, Candy Buckley, and More Cast in Chautauqua Theater Company’s 30th Anniversary Season
(© David Gordon)
Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch has announced principal casting for Chautauqua Theater Company’s upcoming 30th anniversary season, which is set to include Tennessee Williams’ classic family drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (June 28-July 7), Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning Clybourne Park (July 19-28), Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (August 9-16), and a CTC original presentation, The Romeo & Juliet Project (July 27).
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Lisa Roth (Hold These Truths), will feature Broadway veterans Harris Yulin (The Price) as Big Daddy and Candy Buckley (Scandalous) as Big Momma, both of whom will be making their CTC debuts. CTC Conservatory members Carly Zien and Peter Mark Kendall will star as Maggie and Brick alongside Matt Raich (Gooper), Mallory Portnoy (Mae), Anthony Goes (Dr. Baugh), and David Vegh (Rev. Tooker).
Drama Desk Award nominee Davis McCallum comes to CTC to direct Clybourne Park, Bruce Norris’ two-act play about changing race relations in a Chicago neighborhood, following success at the helm of Playwrights Horizons‘ The Whale this past season. The cast will feature Marin Hinkle (Two and a Half Men) as Bev/Kathy, Andy Weems (Born Yesterday) as Russ/Dan, and Drama Desk Award nominee Sean Dugan (Next Fall) as Karl/Steve, as well as Conservatory members Tangela Large as Francine/Lena, Stephen Spencer as Jim/Tom/Kenneth, Mary Wiseman as Betsy/Lindsay, and Landon Woodson as Albert/Kevin.
CTC Associate Artistic Director Andrew Borba will then direct Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, featuring a cast of CTC Conservatory members as well as returning guest artist John Seidman (The Man Who Came to Dinner) in the role of Egeon.
Closing the season will be The Romeo & Juliet Project, an original CTC project conceived and directed by Artistic Director Benesch. It will offer a reimagination of Shakespeare’s classic love story for a one-night-only performance on July 27 in its 5,000-seat amphitheater. The performance will feature various CTC alumni including OBIE Award winner Peter Francis James (Stuff Happens) as Capulet, Karl Kenzler (Mary Poppins) as Friar Laurence, former CTC artistic director Rebecca Guy as the Nurse, Chris Corporandy as Tybalt, and Peter Mark Kendall as Mercutio. Conservatory members Brian Smolin and Arielle Goldman will make their CTC debuts in the title roles of Romeo and Juliet, respectively, along with a company of 75 actors, singers and dancers.
In addition to its regular season, CTC will also offer two staged readings as part of its New Play Workshop: Dark Radio by Colin McKenna (July 11-13) and Transit by Kait Kerrigan (August 1-3).
