Photos: Inside First Rehearsal For TONI STONE at Arena Stage

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is now in rehearsal for Toni Stone, written by Arena alumna resident playwright Lydia R. Diamond. Set in the 1950s, Toni Stone was the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, also making her the first woman to play in a professional men's league.

Check out rehearsal photos below!

Award-winning playwright Diamond (Arena's Smart People, Stick Fly) tells the dynamic and exhilarating story of Stone's journey of perseverance and resilience just to do what she loved the most - play baseball. Directed by Pam MacKinnon, Toni Stone runs September 3 - October 3, 2021 in the Kreeger Theater. Press night for Toni Stone will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2021.

Reprising their roles from the A.C.T. run include JaBen Early (Arena's Junk), Kenn E. Head (Roundabout's Toni Stone), Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. (Broadway's Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations), Sean-Maurice Lynch (Arena's Jubilee) and Jarrod Mims Smith (A.C.T.'s The Royale).

Also joining the cast and making their Arena Stage debuts are Gilbert L. Bailey II (Broadway's Beetlejuice), Aldo Billingslea (Folger's The Winter's Tale) and Santoya Fields (Berkeley Repertory's School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play).

Based on the novel Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone by Martha Ackmann and commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company and Samantha Barrie, Toni Stone received development support from the Resident Artists Program at Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. This production is in association with American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Roundabout Theatre Company, where it received its world premiere in May 2019.

In addition to MacKinnon, the creative team includes Choreographer Camille A. Brown, Set Designer Riccardo Hernández, Costume Designer Dede Ayite, Lighting Designer Allen Lee Hughes, Sound Design and Original Music by Broken Chord, Hair and Wig Designer Cookie Jordan, Assistant Choreographer Jay Stanton, Stage Manager Elisa Guthertz, Assistant Stage Manager Kurt Hall and Production Assistant Dayne Sundman.