{"id":117072,"date":"2023-03-25T10:59:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=117072"},"modified":"2023-03-25T10:59:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:59:53","slug":"first-casting-announced-for-pennsylvania-shakespeare-festivals-summer-2023-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=117072","title":{"rendered":"First Casting Announced for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s Summer 2023 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casting Announced for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, featuring\u00a0In the Heights, Henry IV, Part 2, The Tempest,<\/em>\u00a0Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility, <\/em><\/strong>and\u00a0Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Center Valley, PA: March 24, 2023\u00ad\u00ad<\/strong>\u2014Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival\u2019s Artistic Director Jason King Jones introduces the first casting for this summer\u2019s season. As previously announced the Festival will produce\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2<\/em>,\u00a0In the Heights<\/em>,\u00a0The Tempest,\u00a0<\/em>Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em>, and\u00a0Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill<\/em>; along with\u00a0<\/em>children\u2019s theatre productions of\u00a0James and the Giant Peach\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Shakespeare for Kids<\/em>.\u00a0The season runs May 31 through August 6, at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of DeSales University in Center Valley, PA.\u00a0 Leading roles have been filled by award-winning actors with an extensive list of Broadway and Off-Broadway credits, as well as roles in top regional theatres, television and film.<\/p>\n

Opening the summer on the Main Stage is Lin-Manuel Miranda\u2019s pre-Hamilton\u00a0<\/em>breakout hit musical\u00a0In the Heights<\/em>\u00a0featuring\u00a0Danny Bolero<\/strong>\u00a0as Kevin Rosario. Bolero\u00a0played Kevin on Broadway and originated the role\u00a0<\/em>in the 1st National Tour.\u00a0<\/em>Last year he appeared on Broadway in\u00a0Plaza Suite<\/em>, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Mathew Broderick.\u00a0His additional Broadway credits include\u00a0Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat\u00a0<\/em>(revival), plus tours of\u00a0Joseph\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Man of La Mancha<\/em>; and the regional productions of\u00a0Evita, Selena,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Nine.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0He recently was awarded the\u00a02022 Bistro Award for his one-man cabaret show,\u00a0They Call Me Cuban Pete<\/em>, playing Desi Arnaz. His latest film\u00a0Townhouse Confidential<\/em>\u00a0is currently streaming, as well as his voice-over as Abuelo in\u00a0Alma\u2019s Way<\/em>\u00a0for PBS Kids.<\/p>\n

Joining Bolero in the cast is\u00a0Ryan Reyes<\/strong>\u00a0as\u00a0Usnavi, who reprises the role following his performance at the Rubicon Theatre Company, in\u00a0Ventura, California. Reyes made his Off-Broadway debut at New World Stages in the new musical\u00a0!Americano\u00a1<\/em>\u00a0as Fro Valdovinos. His select regional credits include Chino in\u00a0West Side Story\u00a0<\/em>at Florida Repertory Theatre and Ritchie Valens in\u00a0Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story<\/em>\u00a0at North Shore Music Theatre. An alumnus of the DeSales University theatre program, Reyes was last seen at the Festival in 2021 as Snug in\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>\u00a0and as Don Armado in\u00a0the Young Company\u2019s Shakespeare Project:\u00a0Love\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost<\/em>. When not on the stage, Reyes is a horse trainer and stuntman for Western independent films.<\/p>\n

William Shakespeare\u2019s\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2<\/em>\u00a0opens the Festival in the Schubert Theatre featuring\u00a0John Ahlin<\/strong>\u00a0reprising the role of Sir John Falstaff following his 2019 performance in\u00a0Henry IV, Part 1\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Merry Wives of<\/em>\u00a0Windsor<\/em>\u00a0in 2010.\u00a0This is Ahlin\u2019s eighth PSF production, which include\u00a0Fiddler on the Roof\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Playboy of the Western World.<\/em>\u00a0His Broadway credits include\u00a0Waiting for Godot, Journey\u2019s End<\/em>\u00a0(2007 Tony Award Best Revival),\u00a0The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Voices in the Dark, One Mo\u2019 Time, Whoopee!\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Macbeth.<\/em>\u00a0Off-Broadway credits include Orson Welles in\u00a0Orson\u2019s Shadow<\/em>, Wolsey\/Chapuys in\u00a0A Man For All Seasons<\/em>, and dozens more. Ahlin has also appeared at top regional theatres around the country. Additionally, he has been on television and film in\u00a0Law and Order<\/em>:\u00a0SVU, Late Night with David Letterman,\u00a0<\/em>the Coen Brothers\u2019\u00a0Inside<\/em>\u00a0Llewyn Davis<\/em>\u00a0and the upcoming\u00a0Space Cadet<\/em>. As a playwright, his award-winning plays include\u00a0Gray Area<\/em>,\u00a0My Witch: The Margaret Hamilton Stories<\/em>, and\u00a0ChipandGus<\/em>, co-authored with Christopher Patrick Mullen, who joins him in the\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2\u00a0<\/em>cast.<\/p>\n

Festival audiences will fondly remember\u00a0Christopher Patrick Mullen<\/strong>\u00a0who has appeared in numerous leading roles at the Festival since its inception in 1992. This season Mullen will play Hastings\/Francis\/Silence in\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2<\/em>, Caliban in\u00a0The Tempest<\/em>\u00a0and Sir John Middleton in Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em>. His notable PSF credits include\u00a0The Mystery of Irma Vep<\/em>,\u00a0Henry IV, Part 1<\/em>,\u00a0Shakespeare in Love<\/em>,\u00a0King Richard II<\/em>,\u00a0Love\u02bcs Labour\u2019s Lost<\/em>,\u00a0Julius Caesar<\/em>,\u00a0Pericles<\/em>,\u00a0Charley\u02bcs Aunt<\/em>,\u00a0Hamlet<\/em>,\u00a0The Glass Menagerie<\/em>,\u00a0Twelfth Night<\/em>,\u00a0Romeo<\/em>\u00a0and Juliet<\/em>, and\u00a0Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker.\u00a0<\/em>Select regional credits include performances at Baltimore Center Stage, Hedgerow Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, and Arden Theatre Company.<\/p>\n

This summer William Shakespeare\u2019s\u00a0The Tempest\u00a0<\/em>and Jessica Swale\u2019s adaptation of Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility\u00a0<\/em>will play in rotating repertory on the Main Stage.\u00a0Robert Cuccioli\u00a0<\/strong>makes his PSF debut as Prospero in\u00a0The Tempest.\u00a0<\/em>He is best known for his critically acclaimed Tony nominated performance as the dual title roles in the Broadway hit musical\u00a0Jekyll & Hyde,<\/em>\u00a0for which he received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, FANY, and Chicago\u2019s Joseph Jefferson Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Other Broadway credits include Inspector Javert in\u00a0Les Mis\u00e9rables\u00a0<\/em>and Dr. Norman Osborn\/The Green Goblin\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em>Off-Broadway credits include\u00a0And The World Goes \u2018Round\u00a0<\/em>(Outer Critics Circle Award),\u00a0Rothschild and Sons\u00a0<\/em>(Offie nomination \u2013 London),<\/em>\u00a0Jacques Brel, Bikeman: A 9\/11 Play, Snow Orchid<\/em>,\u00a0White Guy on the Bus, The White Devil, Caesar & Cleopatra, Mrs. Warren\u2019s Profession\u00a0<\/em>and,\u00a0<\/em>most recently,\u00a0A Touch of the Poet<\/em>\u00a0at Irish Repertory Theatre.\u00a0<\/em>His television and film credits include\u00a0The Sinner, Elementary, White Collar, Sliders, Baywatch, The Guiding Light,\u00a0<\/em>Woody Allen\u2019s\u00a0Celebrity<\/em>,\u00a0The Stranger, Impossible Monsters,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Rest of Us.\u00a0<\/em>He is currently involved with the new musical\u00a0Mozart: Her Story<\/em>\u00a0now in development. Recently he performed the role of Malvolio in\u00a0Twelfth Night<\/em>\u00a0at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Joining Cuccioli in\u00a0The Tempest<\/em>, and new to PSF, is\u00a0Sarah Gliko<\/strong>\u00a0as\u00a0<\/strong>Ariel, who will play in repertory as Elinor in Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em>. Gliko is an actor\/musician and founding member of Philadelphia\u2019s Wilma HotHouse Acting Company, where select productions include\u00a0KISS<\/em>,\u00a0The Cherry Orchard<\/em>,\u00a0Minor Character,\u00a0Heroes of the Fourth Turning (<\/em>Drama League Award Nomination),<\/em>\u00a0Constellations (<\/em>Barrymore Nomination, Lead Performance),\u00a0When the Rain Stops Falling (<\/em>Barrymore Award, Ensemble), the US premiere of Tom Stoppard\u2019s\u00a0The Hard Problem,\u00a0<\/em>and the world premiere of Paula Vogel\u2019s\u00a0Don Juan Comes Home from Iraq.<\/em>\u00a0Other recent credits include Greenbrier Valley Theatre\u2019s\u00a0Mountain Home Christmas, TOWN\u00a0<\/em>at Theatre Horizon;\u00a0<\/em>alongside Bebe Neuwirth in\u00a0A Small Fire<\/em>, and\u00a0The\u00a0Bridges of Madison County<\/em>\u00a0(Barrymore Award, Lead Performance), both at Philadelphia Theatre Company. She has also performed at Arden Theatre Company, Lantern Theater Company, and Walnut Street Theatre.<\/p>\n

Closing out the season in the Schubert Theatre is Lanie Robertson\u2019s musical\u00a0Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill<\/em>\u00a0starring\u00a0Ebony Pullum<\/strong>\u00a0in the leading role of Billie Holiday. Also making her PSF debut,\u00a0Pullum is an actress, singer and teaching artist based out of Philadelphia and New York City who reprises the role of Billie Holiday following her performances at Florida Repertory Theatre and Curio Theatre Company.\u00a0Some of her recent regional credits include her Barrymore Award-winning performance as Shug Avery in\u00a0The Color Purple<\/em>\u00a0at Theatre Horizon and Paulina in\u00a0The Winter’s\u00a0Tale\u00a0<\/em>at Curio Theatre. Additionally, she has performed at Lantern Theater, The Kimmel Center, Quintessence Theatre, and in New\u202fYork at Robert Moss Theater and June Havoc Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team of artists we have assembled perfectly encapsulates the spirit of PSF\u2019s 32nd<\/sup>\u00a0season: a rich combination of legacy talent and experience combined with an infusion of new people, energy, and ideas,\u201d says Jason King Jones. \u201cThese extraordinary artists will make the jewel that is PSF shine brightly this summer, and I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Single tickets, subscriptions, and packages are on sale now and can be purchased online at\u00a0pashakespeare.org<\/a>, by calling the Box Office at 610.282.WILL [9455], or in person at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of DeSales University.<\/p>\n

Media Inquiries, including headshots of the artists and interviews, can be made by email to Tina Slak, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at\u00a0tina.slak@pashakespeare.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to the ambitious line-up, PSF will present several special events including\u00a0the annual Luminosity Gala, pre-show dinners with the Directors and Shakespearean scholars, the \u201cPlay On!\u201d Community Tour of\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>, and a Community Day on July 1. More details will be shared in upcoming announcements.<\/p>\n

The 2023 Season Sponsors are Yvonne Payne and Edward Spitzer. The Associate Season Sponsors are Douglas Dykhouse, Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth, Kathleen Kund Nolan and Timothy E. Nolan, The Szarko Family, and the Harry C. Trexler Trust.<\/p>\n

Summer Season 2023:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPlay On!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Community Tour: Shakespeare\u2019s\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>performing in several locations throughout the Lehigh Valley (June 2 to June 18).<\/p>\n

Schubert Theatre:\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(May 31 to June 11);\u00a0James and the Giant Peach\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(July 7 to Aug 5);\u00a0Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(July 19 to August 6).<\/p>\n

Main Stage:\u00a0In the Heights<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(June 14 to July 2);\u00a0The Tempest\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(July 12 to August 6);\u00a0Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(July 20 to August 5);\u00a0Shakespeare for Kids<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(July 26 to August 5).<\/p>\n

Bard Outdoors:\u00a0The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again]\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(June 28 to July 16).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Artistic Leadership:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jason King Jones, Artistic Director<\/p>\n

Casey William Gallagher, Managing Director<\/p>\n

Dennis Razze, Associate Artistic Director<\/p>\n

About Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is the only professional Equity theatre of its scope and scale within a 50-mile radius. PSF is one of only a handful of theatres on the continent producing Shakespeare, musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, all of which can normally be seen in repertory and in multiple spaces within a few visits in a single summer season. Similarly, PSF was among just a handful of theatres on the continent in recent summers to produce three Shakespeare plays in a single summer season. A patron would have to travel seven to nine hours from PSF to find a comparable range of offerings at a single theatre within a few weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

The Festival\u2019s award-winning company of many world-class artists includes Broadway, film, and television veterans, and winners and nominees of the Tony, Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Jefferson, Hayes, Lortel, and Barrymore awards. A leading Shakespeare theatre with a national reputation for excellence, PSF has received coverage in\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em>,\u00a0NPR<\/em>,\u00a0American Theatre Magazine<\/em>, Playbill.com,\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, and in recent seasons\u00a0The New York<\/em>\u00a0Times\u00a0<\/em>has identified PSF as one of the leading summer theatre festivals in the nation. \u201cA world-class theater experience on a par with the top Bard fests,\u201d is how one New York Drama Desk reviewer characterized PSF.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1992 and the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PSF\u2019s mission is to enrich, inspire, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through first-rate productions of classical and contemporary plays, with a core commitment to Shakespeare and other master dramatists, and through an array of education and mentorship programs. A not-for-profit theatre, PSF receives significant support from its host, DeSales University, from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Traditionally, with 150 performances over ten weeks, the Festival attracts patrons each summer from 30+ states. In 30 years, PSF has offered 200+ total productions (82 Shakespeare), and entertained 1,000,000+ patrons from 50 states, now averaging 34,000-40,000 in attendance each summer season, plus another 13,000 students each year through its WillPower Tour to schools. PSF is a multi-year recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts:\u00a0Shakespeare in<\/em>\u00a0American Communities<\/em>, and is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA). In 2013, leaders of the world\u2019s premiere Shakespeare theatres gathered at PSF as the Festival hosted the international STA Conference. The Festival\u2019s vision is for world-class theatre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Casting Announced for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, featuring\u00a0In the Heights, Henry IV, Part 2, The Tempest,\u00a0Jane Austen\u2019s\u00a0Sense and Sensibility, and\u00a0Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill Center Valley, PA: March 24, … Continue reading First Casting Announced for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s Summer 2023 Season<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PSF.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}