Ledisi, Amber Iman, and More Set for West Coast Premiere of Witness Uganda
(© David Gordon)
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will present the West Coast premiere of the Wallis's production of Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews's documentary musical Witness Uganda, running February 5-24 in the Wallis's Lovelace Studio Theater.
Twelve-time Grammy nominee Ledisi, Jamar Williams (Wild Goose Dreams), Amber Iman (Hamilton), and Emma Hunton (Wicked) will star in the production. The cast will also feature Kameron Richardson, Naärai, Sha'leah Nikole, Dexter Dardin, Jordan Barrow, Jai'Len Josey, and Antwone Barnes, Kennan D. Washington, and Thurzday in the Ensemble. Josey will substitute for Ledisi on the evening of Friday, February 15, and for both shows on Sunday, February 17.
Matthew will direct, with music direction by Gould. The rest of the creative team will include Abdur-Rahim Jackson (choreography), Remy Kurs (music supervision), Connor MacPhee (set design), David Hernandez (lighting design), Carlton Jones (costumes), and Martin Carillo (sound design), with Mark Jacob Chaitin as assistant director and Sara Sahin as stage manager. Casting is by Chad Murnane of Binder Casting.
Inspired by a true story, the show follows a young New York City man named Griffin who volunteers for a project in Uganda. The musical addresses the challenges confronted by American aid workers around the world. Witness Uganda had its world premiere at Harvard University's American Repertory Theater in 2014 and premiered off-Broadway at New York City's Second Stage Theater under the name Invisible Thread, both under the direction of Tony winner Diane Paulus.
