Full Cast Announced for Coram Boy; Previews Start Apr. 16

Full casting has been announced for the Broadway company of CORAM BOY, The National Theatre of Great Britain's American premiere production of the play adapted by Helen Edmundson from the award-winning novel by Jamila Gavin, with direction by Melly Still. CORAM BOY will begin preview performances on Monday, April 16 and will open on Wednesday, May 2 at Broadway's Imperial Theatre (249 West 45 Street). 

Philip Anderson, John Arbo, Sean Attebury, Renee Brna, Charlotte Cohn, Sean Cullen, Katie Geissinger, Zachary James, Tinashe Kajese, Katherine Keyes, Evangelia Kingsley, B.J. Karpen, Eric William Morris, Samantha Soule, Daniel Neer, Nina Negri, Mark Rehnstrom, Martin Sola, Alisson Weller, Greg Wright complete the 20 member cast as an on-stage choir that will perform Handel's "Messiah" and original music composed by composer Adrian Sutton to be accompanied by a 7 piece chamber orchestra.

The ensemble cast features Jolly Abraham (Bombay Dreams) as "Molly," Uzo Aduba as "Toby," Jacqueline Antaramian (Julius Caesar) as "Mrs. Hendry," Bill Camp (Heartbreak House) as "Otis Gardiner," Dashiell Eaves (The Lieutenant of Inishmore) as "adult Thomas Ledbury," Xanthe Elbrick as "young Alexander/Aaron," Tom Riis Farrell (Dirty Blonde) as "Thomas Claymore," Brad Fleischer (Pig Farm) as "Meshak," Karron Graves as "Isobel Ashbrook," Laura Heisler as "Edward Ashbrook," Angela Lin as "Miss Price," David Macdonald (Two Shakespearean Actors) as "Lord Ashbrook," Quentin Maré (Julius Caesar) as "Frederic Handel," Tony Award® nominee Jan Maxwell (Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang) as "Mrs. Lynch," Kathleen McNenny (The Constant Wife) as "Mrs. Milcote," Cristin Milioti (The Lieutenant of Inishmore) as "Alice Ashbrook," Charlotte Parry (The Real Thing) as "young Thomas Ledbury," Christina Rouner as "Lady Ashbrook," Ivy Vahanian as "Melissa/Angel," Wayne Wilcox (Suddenly Last Summer) as  "adult Alexander Ashbrook."

CORAM BOY is an epic adventure set in 18th-century England featuring 40 performers onstage along with seven musicians. CORAM BOY has played two sold-out engagements at The National Theatre of Great Britain, where it was awarded the 2006 Time Out Live Best Play Award and received rave reviews from the UK critics.

CORAM BOY is based on Jamila Gavin's best-selling novel, winner of the prestigious 2000 Whitbread Young Adult Book Award, which author Philip Pullman describes as "a rich and almost gothic drama, full of dastardly villains, cold-hearted aristocrats, devoted friends and passionate lovers, set against a background of cruelty, music and murder."

CORAM BOY tells the tale of two orphans at the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children:  Toby, saved from an African slave ship and Aaron, the abandoned son of the heir to a great estate.  A story of fathers and sons, set in the dark heart of 18th-century England, CORAM BOY is filled with danger and excitement. A thrilling adventure that is also moving and uplifting, CORAM BOY is recommended for audiences ages 12 and older, adults, and young adults.

CORAM BOY is designed by Ti Green and Melly Still, with lighting design by Paule Constable, music by Adrian Sutton and sound design by Christopher Shutt. The music director is Constantine Kitsopoulos and the fight director is Thomas Schall.

CORAM BOY is the latest National Theatre production to be produced on Broadway by Boyett Ostar Productions.  Previous plays include Alan Bennett's Tony Award-winning Best Play, The History Boys, directed by NT Director, Nicholas Hytner, as well as the recent productions of Jumpers, Democracy and The Pillowman.

In its three theatres on the south bank of the Thames in London, The National Theatre of Great Britain presents an eclectic mix of new plays and classics, with seven or eight productions in repertory at any one time. It aims constantly to re-energise the great traditions of the British stage and to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike.

Photo of Jan Maxwell by Linda Lenzi