Cal Shakes Announces AMERICAN NIGHT: THE BALLAD OF JUAN JOSE Cast

California Shakespeare Theater today announced the cast of its season-opening production, American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, by Richard Montoya and developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney. Helmed by Cal Shakes Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone, the production will run at the Bruns Amphitheater from May 29 through June 23. The 2010 world premiere of American Night: The Ballad of Juan José at Oregon Shakespeare Festival was the first show in the company's history to be extended due to popular demand; the New York Times deemed the play (In its recent Yale Rep production), "a lovable hodgepodge of references, historical and pop-cultural, with a deadly serious message at its heart."

Simultaneously riotously funny and deeply felt, American Night tells the story of Juan José, whose search for the American dream finds him anxiously exhausted on the night before taking his citizenship exam. José falls asleep and experiences a phantasmagoric 90-minute fever dream in which he travels throughout American history, meeting a wildly-drawn cast of iconic characters: Jackie Robinson, Teddy Roosevelt, Joan Baez, Abe Lincoln, and Sacajawea, to name a few. Inspired by the inimitable Culture Clash style, this delirious and piercing comedy marks Montoya's return to the Bay Area, following close on the heels of the world premiere this April of his play The River at Intersection for the Arts + Campo Santo in San Francisco.

This cast of this fast-paced, surreal look at American history through the lens of the immigrant experience includes Campo Santo co-founder Sean San José in his Cal Shakes debut as the play's title character. The other ensemble members, each of whom play up to 15 characters each, include Bay Area favorites Margo Hall (last seen in 2012's critically-acclaimed Spunk); Sharon Lockwood (Malvolio in 2008's Twelfth Night); Cal Shakes Associate Artist Dan Hiatt (Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing); Dena Martinez (national tours with Culture Clash and SF Mime Troupe); Todd Nakagawa (featured in the documentary, The Mighty Warriors of Comedy); Brian Rivera (Hamlet at Cal Shakes, Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep); Richard Ruiz (who worked with Moscone on The Mystery of Irma Vep at Intiman Theater); and Tyee Tilghman (Spunk, A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2013). In addition to Mr. San José, Ms. Martinez, Mr. Nakagawa, and Mr. Ruiz are all making their Cal Shakes' debuts with this production.

Richard Montoya (Playwright) is a co-founder of the legendary performance trio known as Culture Clash which began in San Francisco's Mission District in 1984. The collective created plays large and small for national stages such as the Arena Stage in DC, Seattle Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theater, Yale Rep, Mark Taper Forum, The Public Theater, and the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, as well as La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley California and the Gilroy Garlic Festival-to name a few. As a solo writer Montoya has written Water & Power (LA Drama Critics' Circle Play of the Year 2007), Palestine New Mexico, Anthems and American Night: The Ballad of Juan José. Last year he wrote and directed the feature film Water & Power and is an alumnus of The Sundance Institute's Writers and Directors labs. He was a staff writer on the first season of Southland for NBC and is writing several new works for theaters across the country.

Jonathan Moscone (Director) is entering his 13th season as Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, where he most recently directed Shakespeare's The Tempest in 2012. Credits include the world premiere of Ghost Light, which he co-created and developed with playwright Tony Taccone for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. In addition, he directed Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park for American Conservatory Theater prior to its winning the Pulitzer Prize. Upcoming projects include The Happy Ones for Magic Theater. For Cal Shakes, Mr. Moscone has directed the world premiere of John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven by Octavio Solis (recipient of the inaugural NEA New Play Development Award); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; Candida; Twelfth Night; Happy Days; and The Seagull. He is the first recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award, given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation for "transforming the American theatre through his unique and creative work." Regional credits include Huntington Theatre, Alley Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Goodspeed Musicals, Dallas Theatre Center, San Jose Repertory Theater, Intiman Theatre, and Magic Theatre, among others. Mr. Moscone is a recipient of a Stanford Graduate School of Business Center for Social Innovation Fellowship and is an adjunct faculty member with A.C.T.'s MFA program. He currently serves as a board member of Theatre Communications Group.

The design team for American Night includes set designer Erik Flatmo, designer of Cal Shakes' productions of Mrs. Warren's Profession and Uncle Vanya, as well as A.C.T.'s 4000 Miles and Berkeley Rep's You, Nero; costume designer Anna Oliver, whose work has appeared all over the Bay Area, including Cal Shakes' Nicholas Nickleby and An Ideal Husband; Obie-Award winning lighting designer Tyler Micoleau, new to Cal Shakes this season, whose credits include Lincoln Center Theater, American Repertory Theater, Goodman, and Old Globe, among others; composer/sound designer Cliff Caruthers, creator of soundscapes for numerous productions including Cal Shakes' The Tempest, Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Troilus and Cressida, and productions at A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, and Cutting Ball; and movement by Erika Chong Shuch, who choreographed and appeared last season as Ariel in The Tempest.

Subscriptions and flexpasses for the 2013 season are now available; single tickets go on sale on April 29. Single tickets for American Night: The Ballad of Juan José range from $35 to $72, with discounts available for seniors, students, military families, persons age 30 and under, and groups. Prices, dates, titles, and artists are subject to change. For information or to charge tickets by phone with VISA, MasterCard, or American Express, call the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666. Additional information and online ticketing are available at www.calshakes.org.

California Shakespeare Theater's 2013 season is supported in part by the generosity of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation, and the East Bay Community Foundation.