Photo Flash: Rec Room Arts Presents THE ROYALE

Rec Room Arts continues its thought-provoking 2018/19 season with the regional premiere of the brilliant ring-side play The Royale by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Sons of Anarchy). The opening bell rings April 10 at 7:30 p.m. and the fight continues through April 27.

Time-travel back to Galveston, TX, 1905: Jay "The Sport" Jackson wants nothing more than to become the next heavyweight champion of the world, but Jim Crow America just might be the most menacing competitor yet. Set in a boxing ring, The Royale takes us through the "fight of the century" when one man broke the color barrier of professional sports to become one of the most famous and notorious black men on Earth.

Winner of two Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Drama Desk Award, The Royale is a heart-pounding drama inspired by the real-life story of the trail-blazing African American boxer, Jack Johnson from Galveston, TX.

"I didn't set out to write a play about race relations," said?playwright Marco Ramirez. "I set out to write a play about boxing. But as I started to zero in on the elements I knew I wanted to highlight-the percussive, distinctly musical nature of the sport, the braggadocio of celebrity, the narratives that get spun in and outside of the ring-the story of Jack Johnson kept bubbling to the surface, like a song I couldn't get out of my head."

Marco Ramirez?has had plays produced at Lincoln Center (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), The Kennedy Center, The Humana Festival, The Old Globe (San Diego), The Bush Theatre (London), and Center Theatre Group. Honors include Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship, Lincoln Center's Le Comte du Nouy Award, and both WGA and Emmy Award nominations. Education: NYU and Juilliard. TV credits:?Sons of Anarchy?(FX),?Orange is the New Black (Netflix),?Fear the Walking Dead?(AMC),?Marvel's Daredevil?(Netflix), and?Marvel's The Defenders?(Netflix).

The Royale is directed by The Alley Theatre's Artistic Associate, Brandon Weinbrenner (Alley Theatre's The Humans, Venus in Fur), who describes the play as "a fast-paced, high energy snapshot of an athlete born with all the right skills, all the right moves, all the right bravado, but born at the wrong time...and who dared to be the best."

The dynamite cast includes: Brandon Morgan (Alley Theatre's Skeleton Crew) performing the role of Jay, Shawn Hamilton (Yale Rep, Guthrie Theatre, and Alley company member) as Wynton, Josh Morrison (director of last season's Sender) as Max, Jarred Tettey (Alley Theater's As You Like It) as Fish, and Estée Burks (Alley Theatre's All New Amerikin) as Nina.

The production team includes movement direction by Harrison Guy (Urban Souls Dance Company), scenic and lighting design by Rec Room's Creative Director Stefan Azizi, costume design by Clair Hummel, assistant lighting design by Addie Pawlick, and dramaturgy by Rory James Leech. Todd Molesky (Stages Repertory Theatre) is stage manager, and Rec Room's Resident Stage Manager Allison Viera is assistant stage manager.

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THE ROYALE opens?April 10 and runs through April 27. Performances are?Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. Audiences are invited to gather in the bar following performances to meet the cast.

Photo Credit: Tasha Gorel.