Joshua Elijah Reese Replaces Gilbert Owuor in The Old Globe's THE BROTHERS SIZE, 1/26-2/24

The Old Globe today announced that Joshua Elijah Reese will play the role of Ogun Henri Size in the Southern California premiere of The Brothers Size by award-winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. Gilbert Owuor, who had been set to play the role, has withdrawn from the production due to a family emergency. The cast also features the previously announced Antwayn Hopper as Elegba and Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size. Directed by Tea Alagi, The Brothers Size will run Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

Preview performances run Jan. 26 - Jan. 30. Opening night is Thursday, Jan. 31 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Infused with the music and rhythms of the South, The Brothers Size blends West African mythology with a modern-day story of the Louisiana bayou. After his release from prison, Oshoosi Size seeks out his brother, Ogun, who is an upright and law-abiding car mechanic. When their family is threatened by the reappearance of Elegba, a figure from Oshoosi's past, they must learn what it truly means to be brothers. The Brothers Size is part of McCraney's acclaimed trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, which also includes In the Red and Brown Water and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet and which garnered McCraney London's Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright.

The creative team includes Peter Ksander (Scenic Design), Michelle Hunt Souza (Costume Design), Gina Scherr (Lighting Design), Paul Peterson (Sound Design), Jonathan Melville Pratt (Original Music, Percussionist), Jan Gist (Dialect Coach), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) and Diana Moser (Stage Manager).

The Brothers Size is supported in part through gifts from Production Sponsors Microsoft and National Corporate Theatre Fund.

Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney is best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays: The Brothers Size, In the Red and Brown Water and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet. They have been performed at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, The Public Theater in New York, Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and at a trio of theaters in the Bay Area (Marin Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater and Magic Theatre), as well as the Young Vic in London (Olivier Award nomination) and around the world. His other plays include The Breach (Southern Rep, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Wig Out! (Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Royal Court Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, GLAAD Award for Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and Off-Broadway) and American Trade (Royal Shakespeare Company and Hampstead Theatre). Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he is an ensemble member, will produce the world premiere of his commissioned play Head of Passes in April 2013. His play Choir Boy, commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club, will be produced there in June 2013 and previously played to sold-out crowds at The Royal Court Theatre in London this past fall. McCraney was the Royal Shakespeare Company's International Playwright in Residence from 2008 to 2010 where he co-edited and directed the Young People's Shakespeare production of Hamlet, which toured throughout the U.K. and was presented at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. He is the recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers' Award and Steinberg Playwright Award as well as London's Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, the inaugural New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award and the inaugural Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting. He is a graduate of the New World School of the Arts High School, The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and Yale School of Drama. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and a member of Teo Castellanos/D-Projects in Miami.

Director Tea Alagi previously directed the world premiere of The Brothers Size at The Public Theater, The Studio Theatre and Abbey Theatre. She has also directed BranDon Jacobs-Jenkins' A Light Design (Baryshnikov Art Center), Martyna Majok's Petty Harbour (Carlotta Festival of New Plays at Yale University), Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's Lidless (Walkerspace Theater/Page 73 Productions), Cori Thomas' Waking Up (The Ensemble Studio Theatre), Naomi Iizuka's Anonymous (National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun (ZKM in Croatia), Jack Womack and Elliot Sharp's Binibon (The Kitchen), Alberto Villarreal Diaz's Events with Life's Leftovers (DramaFest in Mexico City) and Saviana Stanescu's Aliens with Extraordinary Skills (Women's Project).

Antwayn Hopper (Elegba) most recently appeared in the New York premiere of A Civil War Christmas directed by Tina Landau (New York Theatre Workshop), and prior to that he played Kilroy in the revival of Camino Real (Goodman Theatre). His other New York credits include Hair (Broadway), the premiere of Lesser Mercies (Exit, Pursued by a Bear), Yeast Nation (the triumph of life) (New York International Fringe Festival), Show Boat in concert (Carnegie Hall), Roller Derby (New York Musical Theatre Festival) and readings or workshops at Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Stage and Film and York Theatre Company. His select regional credits include the world premiere of Whoopi Goldberg's White Noise (Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré), Rent (Syracuse Stage), Porgy and Bess in concert (Cincinnati Pops Orchestra), Irving Berlin's White Christmas (The Denver Center for the Performing Arts) and The Who's Tommy (Dallas Theater Center). Hopper's film credits include the forthcoming Imogene opposite Kristen Wiig, and he has appeared on television in "A Gifted Man" (CBS) and "Bored to Death" (HBO).

Okieriete Onaodowan (Oshoosi Size) has appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac directed by Jamie Lloyd and Off Broadway in Neighbors (The Public Theater) and Langston in Harlem directed by Kent Gash (Urban Stages). His Off Off Broadway credits include The Shipment directed by Young Jean Lee (The Kitchen) and Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Richmond Shepard Theatre). He was also seen in the First National Tour of American Idiot. His regional credits include Ruined directed by Liesl Tommy (Huntington Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse), Coalhouse in Ragtime, Guys and Dolls and an opening performer for Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). He has also been featured in several readings at The Public Theater, New York Stage and Film, LArk Theatre Company and many others.

Joshua Elijah Reese (Ogun Henri Size) is reprising the role of Ogun after being a part of the West Coast premiere of The Brother/Sister Plays in San Francisco at Magic Theatre and also most recently with Syracuse Stage, which toured Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. He has appeared regionally as Elegba in The Brothers Size, Nate in Charlayne Woodard's Flight and Devaun in the world premiere of When January Feels Like Summer, which was a recipient of the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award (City Theatre, Pittsburgh), Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton in Seven Guitars (American Stage Theatre Company), Youngblood in Jitney (Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company), Davey Battle in Take Me Out (Bare Bones Theater Company) and Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre). His film credits include The Dark Knight Rises, One for the Money, Riddle, Unstoppable and Homecoming. His television credits include "The Kill Point," "Person of Interest," "Three Rivers," Those Who Kill and "Low Winter Sun," which will premiere on AMC this year.

TICKETS to The Brothers Size can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances begin on Jan. 26 and continue through Feb. 24. Ticket prices start at $29. Performance times: Previews: Saturday, Jan. 26 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There is a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and no matinee performance on Saturday, Feb. 16. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Associated events taking place during the run of The Brothers Size include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR: The Brothers Size
Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 6:00 p.m. FREE
Insights Seminars are informal presentations of ideas and insights to enhance the theatergoing experience. The seminars feature a panel selected from the artistic company of each production. Reception, 5:30 p.m. Seminar, 6:00 p.m. Admission is free and reservations are not required.

POST-SHOW FORUMS: The Brothers Size
Tuesdays, Feb. 5 and 12 and Wednesday, Feb. 20. FREE
Discuss the play with members of the The Brothers Size cast and crew at post-show discussions led by the Globe's creative staff after the performances.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 75 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair and the annual holiday musical, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theaters across the country.