MY ÁNTONIA World Premiere Cast Unveiled

Theater Latté Da has announced complete casting and single ticket on-sale for its world premiere musical My Ántonia. 

Based on the classic novel by Willa Cather, conceived by Jessie Austrian, Noah Brody, Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses, with music and lyrics by Drama Desk and Lortel Award-nominated team The Kilbanes and book by Noah Brody. Performances begin on June 3, 2026 and will continue through July 12, 2026 at the historic Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Opening night is Saturday, June 6, 2026.

“For a company rooted in the Midwest, My Ántonia feels almost inevitable,” said Latté Da's Artistic Director, Justin Lucero. “Willa Cather's great American novel carries the sweep of the prairie, the intimacy of memory, and a profound reverence for the immigrant imagination that helped shape this country. To re-encounter that through musical theater is thrilling. At a moment when the contributions of immigrants to America deserves renewed recognition, this work feels not only beautiful, but urgently resonant.”

In this Latté Da-commissioned world premiere, Willa Cather's beloved novel is envisioned as a celebration of resilience and the enduring strength of women. Featuring a sweeping indie folk score by The Kilbanes and an imaginative libretto by Noah Brody, this poignant adaptation traces the immigrant experience on the Great Plains at the turn of the 20th century through the eyes of the lifelong friendship between orphan boy Jim Burden and Ántonia Shimerda, daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family. My Ántonia offers a timely celebration of the contributions of immigrants to the nation's identity and spirit as America marks its 250th anniversary. Rooted in the land and shaped by memory, this powerful work invites us to consider how we remember our past, and whose stories we choose to tell.

Furthering a tradition of developing bold new work, this highly anticipated world premiere concludes the 2025-26 season. “Bringing My Ántonia to its world premiere feels like a profound expression of who we are and what we've been building toward,” states Lucero. “This musical stands as part of the successful culmination of our NEXT 25 x 25 initiative—a commissioned work nurtured through years of drafts, workshops, and developmental steps, now arriving fully realized on our stage. There is something deeply meaningful about seeing a project we have believed in over time take its place in the world, especially in the hands of creators whose voices are among the most adventurous and compelling in music-theater today.”

The four-member creative team of The Kilbanes (Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses), Noah Brody and Jessie Austrian was the first to be selected for Latté Da's NEXT Generation commission in 2019, and the work was further developed through several Latté Da-hosted workshops and two well-received presentations as part of the Summer 2024 NEXT Festival of New Musicals. My Ántonia represents the first shared project of this four-member team. Married composer-lyricists The Kilbanes are frequent collaborators whose past work includes the Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award-nominated Weightless (WP Theater). Also partners in life and art, director Jessie Austrian and book writer Noah Brody are among the founding co-Artistic Directors of New York City's acclaimed Off-Broadway ensemble company Fiasco Theater.

“One of the great joys of new work development is championing artists whose voices expand what musical theater can be,” states Lucero. “We have believed for years that this piece could become a landmark addition to the canon, and it is exhilarating to help bring it into the world. Additionally, My Ántonia represents so much of what defines Theater Latté Da: investment in new work, faith in visionary creators, and a belief that music-theater can illuminate who we have been and who we might become.” My Ántonia will mark Latté Da's eighteenth world premiere production.

The complete cast for My Ántonia includes Sara Masterson (Falsettos, Fun Home), Will Dusek (Scotland, PA), Em Adam Rosenberg (2025 NEXT Festival), Tom Reed (Stones in His Pockets, Scotland, PA, Gutenberg! The Musical!), Sally Wingert (A Little Night Music, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Sweeney Todd), Bradley Greenwald (Johnny Skeeky, Passion, Journey On), Spencer Chandler (Christmas At The Local), Emily Gunyou-Halaas (Scotland, PA, Passage of Dreams), Anna Hashizume (Hello, Dolly!, La Bohème, My Fair Lady), James Rodriguez (Evita, Cabaret, Peter and the Starcatcher), Lillian Hochman (2024 NEXT Festival), and Maddox Tabalba (Latté Da Debut).

Understudies include Tara Borman (Scotland, PA), Erin Nicole Farsté (Christmas At The Local), Kamani Graham (2024 NEXT Festival), France Roberts (The Color Purple), Eve Scharback (Fun Home) and Laila Sahir (Latté Da debut).

My Ántonia is directed by Jessie Austrian, with music direction by Jason Hansen and choreography by Joey Miller. The design team includes scenic designer Ben Olsen, Costume Designer Sarah Bahr, lighting designer Wu Chen Khoo, sound designer Katharine Horowitz, props designer Madelaine Foster and hair and makeup designer Emma Gustafson. Shelby Reddig is stage manager and Austin Schoenfelder is assistant stage manager.

The world premiere production of My Ántonia is made possible in part by the support of production sponsors Tom Knabel and Kent Allin. Its commission and development was supported by new work grants from Nara Fund, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the National Endowment for the Arts, Phileona Foundation, RBC Foundation, Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation, and numerous generous individuals who share Latté Da's belief in the importance of nurturing new voices in music theater.

The 2025/26 season opened October 8, 2025 with the original concert offering Journey On: A 100th Show Cabaret Celebration, marking the organization's 100th production and the launch of a milestone year that also brings the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Ritz Theater in Spring 2026 and the successful completion of the ambitious NEXT 25 X 25 initiative to support the development of 25 new musicals over a five-year period. The season continued in November with a hit reimagined production of the Lerner & Loewe classic My Fair Lady, led by Artistic Director Justin Lucero, followed by the Tennessee Williams masterwork The Glass Menagerie (also directed by Lucero), and the Tony Award nominated Gutenberg! The Musical! directed by Tyler Michaels King. Following My Ántonia is the return of the annual NEXT Festival, dedicated to the development of new musicals and plays with music.

TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT LATTÉ DA

Tickets for My Ántonia are now available for purchase, starting at just $37. A FLEXPack of 6 tickets is also available for purchase for $396, and may be used in any combination, for any available seat, to see shows throughout the 2025/26 season.

Tickets and FLEXPacks may be purchased online at www.LatteDa.org, by calling the Box Office at 612-339-3003, or in person at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis. Box Office hours are from 12 - 5 PM Tuesday to Friday, and from 12 - 5 PM on Saturdays during performance runs only.