Dutton, Acosta Star In DEATH OF A SALESMAN 4/24-5/23
Rehearsals begin today in New Haven for the Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) production of Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece DEATH OF A SALESMAN, featuring three-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee Charles S. Dutton as Willy Loman, and directed by James Bundy. Performances begin April 24 and continue through May 23 only at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, April 30.
Joining Mr. Dutton in this production, which marks the play's 60th Anniversary, are ChrisTina Maria Acosta (Jelly's Last Jam, Yale School of Drama) as Miss Forsythe, Starla Benford (Trouble in Mind, Yale Rep) as the Woman, La Tonya Borsay (dance of the holy ghosts, Yale Rep) as Jenny, Tony Award nominee Thomas Jefferson Byrd (Broadway's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; Trouble in Mind, Yale Rep) as Ben, Austin Durant (Passion Play, Yale Rep) as Bernard, Ato Essandoh (the films Blood Diamond, Nights in Rodanthe) as Biff, Mark Sage Hamilton (King Lear, Yale Rep) as the Waiter, Stephen McKinley Henderson (August Wilson's Jitney; currently directing Zooman and the Sign, New York's Signature Theatre Company) as Charley, Billy EuGene Jones (Broadway's Passing Strange, August Wilson's Radio Golf) as Happy, Stanley Wayne Mathis (Broadway's Wonderful Town) as Stanley, Howard Overshown (Broadway's Julius Caesar) as Howard, Tijuana Ricks (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Letta, and Tony Award nominee Kimberly Scott (August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone) as Linda Loman.
The creative team for DEATH OF A SALESMAN includes composer Dwight Andrews, scenic designer Scott Dougan, costume designer Katherine O'Neill, lighting designer Stephen Strawbridge, sound designer Sarah Pickett, dramaturgs Donesh Olyaie and Michael Walkup, fight director Rick Sordelet, vocal/dialect coach Beth McGuire, and stage manager Cynthia Cahill.
ABOUT DEATH OF A SALESMAN
"An air of the dream clings to the place," Arthur Miller wrote describing the Loman family house-a house one mortgage payment away from finally being paid off. For Willy Loman, there is only one dream: the American Dream. After 36 years on the road in its pursuit, the traveling salesman, haunted by missed opportunities and an uncertain future, must come to terms with a lifetime of self-deception that has distorted his dream into an American tragedy.
TICKET INFORMATION AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tickets for DEATH OF A SALESMAN range from $35-65, and are available online at www.yalerep.org, by phone at (203) 432-1234, and in person at the Yale Rep Box Office (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street). Student, senior, and group rates are also available.
In addition, all tickets for the Monday, April 27 performance are $10.
Please note: Death of a Salesman is Yale Rep's 2008-09 Will Power! production. The run includes four SOLD OUT 10:30AM performances for high school groups. For more information about Will Power!, or to inquire about other available performances for school groups, please contact Ruth Feldman at (203) 432-8425 or rm.feldman@yale.edu.