World Premiere Jason Robert Brown Musical Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Extends Chicago Run

The world premiere of Jason Robert Brown and Taylor Mac's new musical Midnight in the Garden of Evil, which begins previews at Chicago's Goodman Theatre June 25 prior to an official opening July 8, has extended its limited engagement.

The production, based on John Berendt's 1994 non-fiction book, had been scheduled through August 4 in the Albert Theatre. Performances will now continue an additional week through August 11. Rob Ashford is directing, and Tanya Birl is choreographing.

The cast is led by Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee, who made history as the first non-binary actor to win a Tony Award, as The Lady Chablis; Tony nominee Tom Hewitt as Jim Williams; and Olivier nominee Sierra Boggess as Emma Dawes.

The company also includes Lance Roberts (The Best Man) as Bobby Lewis, Austin Colby (The Great Gatsby) as Danny Hansford, Bailee Endebrock (Parade) as Corrine Strong, Shanel Bailey (The Book of Mormon) as Lavella Cole, Jessica Molaskey (Sunday in the Park with George) as Alma Knox Carter, Brianna Buckley (the ripple, the wave that carried me home) as Minerva, Mary Ernster (War Paint) as Serena Barnes/Dawn Avery, McKinley Carter (Turn of the Century) as Vera Strong, Maya Bowles (The Wiz) as Stacey Brown, DeMarius Copes (Some Like It Hot) as Jeremiah Jones, Sean Donovan as Luther Driggers, Jason Michael Evans (Anastasia tour) as Colonel Atwood/Burt, Christopher Kelley as Bubbles/Gregory, Andre Terrell Malcolm (Hamilton tour) as Josiah Domingo, Aaron James McKenzie (A Beautiful Noise) as Jethro Myles, Wes Olivier as Jack the One-Eyed Jill, Kayla Marie Shipman as Millicent/Mary, and Rory Shirley as Stefanie Davis.

Swings include Calvin L. Cooper, Daryn Whitney Harrell, Kayla Kennedy, Jake DiMaggio Lopez, and Justin Thomas Rivers.

The New York Times best seller tracks an antiques dealer through four trials for murdering a male prostitute in Savannah, Georgia. The story is modeled on the real-life shooting of Daniel Lewis Hansford. The work won the 1995 Boeke Prize and was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. A film adaptation was released in 1997 starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey.

The musical also has sets by Tony and Olivier winner Christopher Oram, costumes by Tony nominee Toni-Leslie James, lighting by Tony and Olivier winner Neil Austin, and sound design by Jon Weston. Saori Yokoo is production stage manager. Casting is by Lauren Port and The Telsey Office's Patrick Goodwin.

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