The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced complete casting today for the world premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS PART 1 & PART 2. McCraney, one of America's most acclaimed young writers, returns to The Public to complete his trilogy following the success of The Brothers Size in 2007. Tina Landau will direct In The Red and Brown Water and Robert O'Hara will direct The Brothers Size and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet.
Tarell Alvin McCraney's trilogy is a collection of modern-day stories of kinship, love, heartache and coming-of-age centered around an extended family and community in the Bayou. Winner of the inaugural New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, McCraney's stories traverse the gritty and lyrical, urban and mythic.
"Tarell is a thrilling writer, an artist whose poetic skill and story-telling prowess is matched by his intensely moral vision," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "The Brother/Sister Plays mark the full emergence of a major new American playwright. We are honored to have Tarell be part of the Public's family."
The complete cast for THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS features Sterling K. Brown as Shango/Shua; Kimberly Hébert Gregory as Aunt Elegua/Shun; Brian Tyree Henry as Egungun/Oshoosi/Tarell; Andre Holland as Elegba/Marcus; Marc Damon Johnson as Ogun; Sean Allen Krill as O Li Roon / Man From State; Nikiya Mathis as Shun/Shaunta Iyun; Kianné Muschett as Oya/Osha; and Heather Alicia Simms as Nia/Mama Moja/Oba.
THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS will feature scenic design by James Schuette; costume design by Karen Perry; lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski; and sound design by Lindsay Jones.
Tarell Alvin McCraney (Playwright) is the author of the Brother/Sister Plays - The Brothers Size, In the Red and Brown Water, and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet - which have been produced at The Public, Studio Theater, Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Foundry Theater, the McCarter Theater, the Young Vic, and Alliance Theater. His other works include The Breach (Southern Rep. Theater New Orleans, Seattle Rep.), Wig Out! (The Vineyard, Sundance Summer Theater Institute), Without/Sin (Yale Cabaret), Run Mourner, Run (Yale Cabaret), and A Taurian Tale (52nd Street Project). McCraney is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and has been honored with the Cole Porter Award, Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, Whiting Writing Award, Outstanding Achievement by an Affiliate Theater Olivier Award nomination, residency at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Hodder Fellowship at Lewis Center for the Arts, and a seven-year residency at New Dramatists in New York.
Tina Landau (Director) returns to The Public following the acclaimed production of Space, which she wrote and directed. Her Broadway directing credits include the current production of Tracy Letts's Superior Donuts and the 2001 revival of Bells Are Ringing. Her off-Broadway credits include Wig Out! (Vineyard), Iphigenia 2.0 (Signature), Mary Rose (Vineyard), Miracle Brothers (Vineyard), Saturn Returns (The Public), and Cloud Tectonics (Playwrights Horizons). She wrote the book and lyrics for Dream True: My Life With Vernon Dixon (Vineyard) and Floyd Collins (Playwrights Horizons), which she also directed.
