Marinda Anderson, Dan Domingues and More to Star in PUBLIC CHARGE at The Public
The production will be directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jan. 15, 2026
The Public Theater has revealed the complete cast for the world premiere of 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. 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 complete cast of Public Charge includes Marinda Anderson (Cheryl Mills), Nate Betancourt (Understudy), Maggie Bofill (Josefina Vidal/Others), John J. Concado (Consular Officer 1/Others), Dan Domingues (Ricardo Zuniga), Zabryna Guevara (Julissa Reynoso), Yesenia Iglesias (Understudy), Paco Lozano (Understudy), Nairoby Otero (Understudy), Armando Riesco (Bruno Rodriguez/Others), Al Rodrigo (Bolanos/Mujica/Others), and Barbara Walsh (Judy Gross).
Public Charge features scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Haydee Zelideth, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by David Van Tieghem, video design by Lucy Mackinnon, hair and wigs design by Earon Nealey, prop management by Samantha Llanes Gordon, and dramaturgy by Jack Phillips Moore. Roxana Khan will serve as production stage manager and Molly Foy as stage manager.
The Public Theater will kick off 2026 with a production of Elevator Repair Service’s take on James Joyce’s ULYSSES, directed by John Collins, with co-direction and dramaturgy by Scott Shepherd. Anna Ziegler’s ANTIGONE (THIS PLAY I READ IN HIGH SCHOOL), a riveting take on Sophocles’ classic, premieres in the Anspacher with direction by Tyne Rafaeli. Ma-Yi Theater Company's season-long residency continues with the world premiere of JESA by Jeena Yi and directed by Mei Ann Teo. Later in the spring, The Public will present SEAGULL: TRUE STORY, produced by MART Foundation, written by Eli Rarey, and created and directed by Alexander Molochniov after a successful run at La MaMa last spring. Finally, the 25-26 Astor Place season will conclude with the much-anticipated world premiere of GIRL, INTERRUPTED based on the groundbreaking memoir by Susanna Kaysen, with a book by Martyna Majok, original music by Aimee Mann, choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and direction by Jo Bonney.
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