Cast Set For SIZWE BANZI IS DEAD From Crossroads Theatre Company
Atandwa Kani and Kelcey Watson star at the Tony-winning regional theater in New Brunswick
Crossroads Theatre Company (CTC) has announced the cast and crew for its upcoming production of the timeless classic, Sizwe Banzi is Dead. The production will be directed by Co-Founder and Artistic Director Ricardo Khan, in collaboration with John Kani (Black Panther, Mufasa: The Lion King).
The cast features Atandwa Kani (Black Panther, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), a celebrated film and theater actor, in the role of Buntu/Styles-a role made iconic by his father, John Kani. Kelcey Watson (Days of Wine and Roses), a classically trained stage and screen actor, joins as Sizwe Banzi.
This creative team includes Ricardo Khan and creative collaborator, Tony Award winner John Kani. Beowulf Boritt (New York, New York Act One, Flying Over Sunset), Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards is the production's scenic designer and returning to Crossroads is Costume Designer, Helen Hayes nominee Mika Eubanks (The MONSTERS; Twelfth Night); Obie Award Winner Victor En Yu Tan is lighting designer, Tony Nominee and Grammy winner, Justin Ellington is sound designer; Stefania Bulbarella, a Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominee is projection designer; Andrea Zertuche (The Space Between, Past Lives), is projection associate and programmer ; Anya Kutner is prop supervisor (Titus Andronicus; Meet the Cartozians); Norman Anthony Small, is production stage manager (American Buffalo; Leopoldstadt; The Shark is Broken), the assistant stage manager is Scott Yezzi, (Straight Forward, Girlboss ), and Crossroads Managing Director Ezra Ezzard is a producer.
Sizwe Banzi is Dead is a powerful, humorous, and deeply moving story set during South Africa's apartheid era. The play follows a man who must choose between disappearing under an unjust system or reinventing himself to survive. Written by Athol Fugard, with John Kani and Winston Ntshona, who also starred in the original 1972 Cape Town production, the play later opened in London and won the 1974 Theatre Critics Award for Best Play. Its New York debut in November 1974 earned Tony Awards for both Kani and Ntshona, and was nominated for Best Play.
Previews for Sizwe Banzi is Dead begin May 19, with Opening Night on May 23. The production runs through June 14 at the New Brunswick Performance Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ. Members of the media will be invited to a dedicated press night, with opportunities for interviews, photography, and advance coverage. Please contact the Crossroads press office to reserve credentials or request more information at sammattingly@optimum.net.
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