PUBLIC CHARGE World Premiere Extends at The Public Theater
Public Charge begins performances in The Public’s Newman Theater with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Thursday, March 12.
The Public Theater will present a one-week extension for the world premiere of Public Charge, a bracing new play based on true events written by former United States Ambassador Julissa Reynoso and award-winning playwright Michael J. Chepiga. Directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes, the world premiere play is inspired by Reynoso’s real-life adventures from immigrating to the United States. Public Charge begins performances in The Public’s Newman Theater with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Thursday, March 12. The production officially opens on Wednesday, March 25 and will now run through Sunday, April 12.
In 1982, seven-year-old Julissa immigrates to the U.S from the Dominican Republic. In 2009, she leaves her successful practice at a Wall Street law firm to supervise Caribbean and Central American Affairs for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. PUBLIC CHARGE chronicles the challenging education of a twenty-first century American diplomat as she works with scores of other dedicated public servants to deploy humanitarian aid to an earthquake-ravaged Haiti, navigate the roiling politics of immigration, confront the reality of international espionage, and free a wrongly imprisoned American from a Cuban prison. This bracing world premiere by former United States Ambassador Julissa Reynoso and award-winning playwright Michael J. Chepiga is, at its core, about a group of Americans who believe, sometimes against all appearances to the contrary, that their government might actually be a force for good upon the frighteningly chaotic world stage. Tony Award winner Doug Hughes directs this first-hand account of the principled use of power and the enormous potential of keen intelligence, hard work, and good will to bridge seemingly irreconcilable conflict.
Following Reynoso’s real-life adventures in immigration, diplomacy, espionage, and politics, PUBLIC CHARGE is drawn from her experience as Ambassador navigating a relationship with Uruguayan President José Mujica; her efforts to free Alan Gross, an American wrongly imprisoned in Cuba; and negotiating with Cuban deputy minister Josefina Vidal, minister of foreign affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and diplomat Jorge Bolaños.
The complete cast of PUBLIC CHARGE includes Marinda Anderson (Cheryl Mills), Nate Betancourt (Ensemble/Understudy), Maggie Bofill (Josefina Vidal/Others), John J. Concado (Consular Officer/Vincent), Dan Domingues (Ricardo Zuniga), Zabryna Guevara (Julissa Reynoso), Yesenia Iglesias (Ensemble/Understudy), Paco Lozano (Ensemble/Understudy), Nairoby Otero (Ensemble/Understudy), Armando Riesco (Bruno Rodriguez/Others), Al Rodrigo (Bolaños/Mujica/Others), and Barbara Walsh (Judy Gross).
Public Charge features scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Haydee Zelideth, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design and original music by David Van Tieghem, video design by Lucy Mackinnon, original music by Carlos Henriquez, hair and wigs design by Earon Chew Nealey, prop management by Samantha Llanes Gordon, dialect coaching by Rosie Berrido, and dramaturgy by Jack Phillips Moore. Roxana Khan serves as production stage manager and Molly Foy as stage manager.
