The Public Theater's musical version of Twelfth Night—the second show of the free, 2018 Shakespeare in the Park season—has found its complete cast. Tony winner Shuler Hensley, who will play Sir Toby Belch, replaces the previously announced Jacob Ming-Trent, who had a scheduling conflict.
Twelfth Night, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, will begin performances July 17 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The adaptation is directed by Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Kwei-Armah with choreography by Lorin Latarro.
Previously announced cast members include Ato Blankson-Wood as Orsino, Nikki M. James as Viola, Andrew Kober as Malvolio, and co-creator Taub as Feste.
They will be joined by Nanya-Akuki Goodrich as Olivia, Lori Brown-Niang as Maria, Troy Anthony as Sebastian, JW Guido as Illyrian, Daniel Hall as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Jonathan Jordan as Antonio, and Patrick J. O’Hare as Fabian. Kim Blanck will be the female understudy, and Javier Ignacio will be the male understudy.
Two rotating ensembles of community members will also be part of the ensemble.
Twelfth Night was originally performed in 2016 through Public Works, which brings together professional artists and community members from all five New York City boroughs.
The Public Works community partner organizations are Brownsville Recreation Center (Brooklyn), Center for Family Life in Sunset Park (Brooklyn), DreamYard (Bronx), The Fortune Society (Queens), and Military Resilience Foundation (all boroughs), along with alumni partners Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education (Bronx), Children's Aid (all boroughs) and Domestic Workers United (all boroughs).
Twelfth Night feature scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Andrea Hood, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Jessica Paz, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky, orchestrations by Mike Brun, and music direction by Taub.
Performances will continue through August 19.
Watch Taub and an ensemble of dancers and musicians perform her song “Eyes of Another” from the upcoming musical adaptation of Twelfth Night in the video below:
