CSC Announces Full Cast for Wine in the Wilderness

Classic Stage Company has announced full casting for Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress (Trouble in Mind) and directed by Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple) in her New York directorial debut. The show will run March 6-April 13, with an opening night set for March 24, at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater.

As previously announced, Olivia Washington (I’m A Virgo) will play Tommy. Grantham Coleman (The Great Society, Rustin) will play Bill, replacing the previously announced Tramell Tillman, who had to depart the production due to scheduling conflicts.

Washington and Coleman will lead a cast that also includes Brooks Brantly (Ghosts) as Sonny-man, Lakisha Michelle May (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding) as Cynthia, and Milton Craig Nealy (Once on This Island) as Oldtimer.

Set against the backdrop of the 1964 Harlem riot on a hot summer night, Wine in the Wilderness is a rarely seen play from Childress. Artist Bill Jameson’s friends just introduced him to a model for the final piece of his triptych on Black womanhood. But this woman, Tomorrow Marie, is no mere muse.

The production will feature scenic design by Obie Award winner Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Tony Award winner Dede Ayite, lighting design by Obie Award winner Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, sound design by Bill Toles, and wig/hair design by Tony Award winner Nikiya Mathis.