Cast Announced for Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR CHOIR BOY BY TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY

The cast has been announced for Tarell Alvin McCraney’s new play Choir Boy, a commission by and co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club, which runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from 4 September – 6 October (press night 10 September).

The full cast is Khali Best, David Burke, Aron Julius, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Kwayedza Kureya, Gary McDonald and Dominic Smith.

It will be directed by Dominic Cooke, designed by Ultz, with lighting by Charles Balfour, sound by Carolyn Downing and music by Colin Vassell.

‘When you singing them songs… he say, ‘I can see where we going and where we come from.’

Determined to make his mark like those before him Pharus (Dominic Smith) is hell bent on being the best choir leader in the school’s 50 year history. But in a world built on rites and rituals, how will he conform to expectations and gain the respect he desperately needs?

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s piercing new play set in an all boys, all black, American prep school scores a gospel refrain of the politics of minority and masculinity.

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play Wig Out! premiered at the Royal Court in 2008. Credits elsewhere include American Trade at Hampstead Theatre for the RSC, the trilogy entitled The Brother/Sister Plays, including The Brothers Size (Public Theater, New York in association with the Foundry Theatre, and at the Young Vic, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award and won McCraney the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright), In the Red and Brown Water (Alliance Theatre and Young Vic) and Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet. McCraney is also an actor and in April 2010, became the 43rd member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. His play Head of Passes will be produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2013.

Artistic Director of the Royal Court Dominic Cooke directs. His recent credits at the Court include In Basildon, Chicken Soup with Barley, for which he was nominated for an Evening Standard Award and the multi award-winning production of Clybourne Park for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. Clybourne Park, which won writer Bruce Norris the Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize, opened at the Royal Court in September 2010 to critical acclaim before transferring to the West End. Credits elsewhere include The Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre, as well as adapting and directing Arabian Nights and Noughts and Crosses at the RSC. He will also be directing In the Republic of Happiness by Martin Crimp this season.

Choir Boy is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

ends
(20/07/12)

For further information, images or interviews, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com

Notes to Editors:

Cast:
Khali Best AJ
David Burke Mr Pendleton
Aron Julius David
Eric Kofi Abrefa Bobby
Kwayedza Kureya Junior
Gary McDonald Headmaster
Dominic Smith Pharus

Creative Team:

Director Dominic Cooke
Designer Ultz
Lighting Designer Charles Balfour
Sound Designer Carolyn Downing
Musical Director Colin Vassell

Listings Information:
Choir Boy
by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Dominic Cooke
Tuesday 4 September – Saturday 6 October 2012
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS
Monday – Saturday 7.45pm
Saturday matinees 3.30pm (from 15 September)
Thursday matinees 3.30pm (from 13 September)
Press Night Monday 10 September 7pm
Post-Show Talk Wednesday 3 October
Captioned Performance Tuesday 2 October
Age Guidance 14+
Tickets £20 Monday all seats £10 (available on the day of the performance from 9am online)
Concessions £15* (available in advance until Saturday 15 September incl, and all matinees. For all other performances, available on a standby basis on the day)
School and HE Groups of 8+ £10 (avail. Tue-Fri and mats)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)
*ID required. All discounts are subject to availability.

Coutts is the Principal Sponsor of the Royal Court Theatre

Coutts is the UK private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Coutts has a long history of supporting the arts going back 200 years, having looked after the financial affairs of many famous clients connected with the arts such as Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and Chopin. In 1816, Thomas Coutts married Harriot Mellon, a popular actress of her day, and together they became partners of a number of London Theatres, including the Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House. Coutts has even featured in a number of artistic works including The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the new millennium, this tradition has continued not only through managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme and we are delighted to support The Royal Court and its diverse range of ground-breaking performances.

Choir Boy is a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club

Under the dynamic leadership of Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director and Barry Grove, Executive Producer, MTC has been in the forefront of the American theatre for more than 36 years, with productions earning 18 Tony Awards and 6 Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Most recently, MTC produced the Broadway premieres of Venus in Fur, Wit and The Columnist and its 2011 production of Master Class starring Tyne Daly was recently seen in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre. Recent MTC premieres have included Proof, The Tale of The Allergist’s Wife, Doubt, Time Stands Still, Ruined, Good People and Rabbit Hole. MTC produces plays and musicals at its Broadway home, The Freidman Theatre, and Off-Broadway at New York City Center. Since January 2011, Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Producer, has taken the lead in programming and execution Off-Broadway. MTC’s production of Choir Boy will have its American premiere in the summer of 2013. www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com