Photos: The Cast of PUBLIC CHARGE in Rehearsals at The Public Theater
The cast of Public Charge includes Marinda Anderson, Nate Betancourt, Maggie Bofill and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 20, 2026
The Public Theater will present the world premiere play 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 and directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes. See rehearsal photos here!
Following Reynoso’s real-life adventures in immigration, diplomacy, espionage, and politics, Public Charge is drawn from her experience as Ambassador and working in the State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton.
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 runs through Sunday, April 5.
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.
The cast of Public Charge includes Marinda Anderson (Cheryl Mills), Nate Betancourt (Ensemble/Understudy), Maggie Bofill (Josefina Vidal/Others), John J. Concado (Consular Officer 1/Others), 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).
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
