Company member Stephen McKinley Henderson received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his portrayal of ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington in Between Riverside and Crazy. The production, along with Fat Ham (with company member Benja Kay Thomas) received nominations for Best Play. The 76th annual Tony Awards are scheduled to take place on June 11.
Antonio Edwards Suarez is starring in his one man show Antonio’s Song / I was Dreaming of a Son at the Goodman Theatre. Written in collaboration with Dael Orlandersmith and directed by Mark Clements, Antonio struggles to reconcile multiple ethnic identities in a poetic journey of an artist/dancer/father questioning the balance of his passions. From Brooklyn to Massachusetts to Russia, he wrestles with the legacy of stereotypes of masculinity while recognizing there is beauty in manhood and becoming a father. Now onstage through May 28 at The Owen Theatre in Chicago. Watch the trailer here.
Company member Tamilla Woodard directs the ripple, the wave that carried me home at Yale Repertory Theatre. Written by Christina Anderson, the play takes place in 1992, suburban Ohio. Janice lives with her family—a world away from her childhood in 1960s Kansas, where her activist parents fought to integrate public pools and taught Black children how to swim. When she is asked to return and speak at a ceremony honoring her father, she must decide whether she is ready to reckon with her political inheritance. Now onstage through May 20.
Company member Barzin Akhavan is in Fuente Ovejuna at Theatre for a New Audience. Directed by Flordelino Lagundino, written by Lope de Vega, and translated by Adrian Mitchell, Fuente Ovejuna was written in approximately 1612 and inspired by a real 1476 incident: farmers and peasants of the village of Fuente Ovejuna in the region of Castile, Spain, rose up against a military commander and his soldiers garrisoned in the village. Now onstage through May 28 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center.
Company member Mark Jacoby received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical for his role in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical. Stephen McKinley Henderson will receive the Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award. Fat Ham (with Benja Kay Thomas) and Wish You Were Here (with Marjan Neshat) were nominated for Outstanding Play, A Raisin in the Sun (with Tonya Pinkins) was nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Play, A Man of No Importance (with Bill Youmans) was nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and Plays for the Plague Year (with company member Leland Fowler) was nominated for Unique Theatrical Experience. Winners will be announced the week of May 29 and the awards will be presented at Sardi’s June 6.
Company members Tonya Pinkins and Stephen McKinley Henderson, as well as the productions with Eva Kaminsky, and with William Youmans, have received Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. Stephen will receive an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award. Winners will be presented on Sunday, May 7 at NYU Skirball.
Company member Gerardo Rodriguez is in Life is a Dream at Baltimore Center Stage. Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, Pedro Calderón’s revered 17th century philosophical play Life is Dream is adapted here with contemporary resonance by María Irene Fornés. Long, long ago, in a far off kingdom, Segismund, the rightful prince, has spent his life locked in a tower because of a prophecy that he will destroy the realm. When a mysterious visitor arrives, Segismund gets his first chance at freedom–or so he thinks. Now onstage through May 21. Watch the trailer here.
Company member Mia Dillon is in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Judy Blume’s beloved and best-selling classic comes to the big screen. Directed and written for the screen by Kelly Fremon Craig, this timeless, coming-of-age story has transcended decades and spoken to generations. Mia plays Margaret’s grandmother. The film stars Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson and Katy Bates. Now in theaters. Watch the trailer here.
Heidi Miami Marshall, acting coach, director, and casting director, and Beth McGuire, Juilliard and long-time Yale faculty member will join The Actors Center’s Resident Company this month for a series of artist development workshops focused on film acting and idiolect.