Will Swenson & More to Join Christian Camargo in PERICLES Off-Broadway

Theatre for a New Audience, Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director, will present William Shakespeare's Pericles directed by Trevor Nunn, featuring OBIE Award-winner Christian Camargo in the title role and leading a diverse company of twenty-two actors. Pericles marks Mr. Camargo's third Shakespeare title role for Theatre for a New Audience, and the first time not only that Trevor Nunn has directed this play, but the first time he has directed a Shakespeare with a U.S. company. The production begins previews February 14 and opens February 25 for a scheduled run through March 27 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place.

The complete cast is Oberon K.A. Adjepong (Thaliard/Pandar), Earl Baker Jr. (Antiochus/Cerimon), Christian Camargo (Pericles), Philip Casnoff (Helicanus), Gia Crovatin (Thaisa), Lilly Englert (Marina), Nina Hellman (Dionyza), Zachary Infante (Leonine/2nd Fisherman), Patrice Johnson Chevannes (Bawd/Lychorida), John Keating (Boult/1st Fisherman), Ian Lassiter (Lysimachus), Sam Morales (Daughter/Handmaid), Raphael Nash Thompson (Gower), Michael Siberry (Simonides), Will Swenson (Cleon), and PigPen Theatre Co. (Players and Musicians), with Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi, and Dan Weschler.

Pericles, one of the group of Shakespeare's 'Late Plays,' is part of Theatre for a New Audience's season-long celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death (April 23, 1616). Pericles relates a surging adventure story - a hero wanders Odysseus-like through the world of the Mediterranean - and climaxes with events that are seemingly miraculous. An original score written by Tony-nominated Irish composer Shaun Davey (with whom Trevor Nunn has worked six times, including his film of Twelfth Night) will help in telling the story and conveying the mystery and magic of the ending. The acclaimed storyteller-musicians of PigPen Theatre Co. will lend their voices and instrumentation to the production, playing Mr. Davey's score and performing various roles throughout.

Scenic design for Pericles is by Robert Jones, who has designed numerous productions for Broadway and the West End and more than 15 productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as Mr. Nunn's Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway. Costume design is by Constance Hoffman, the acclaimed opera, dance, and theatre designer whose previous work with Theatre for a New Audience includes Titus Andronicus, The Green Bird, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lighting design is by Stephen Strawbridge, whose credits include more than 200 productions on and Off Broadway, including Theatre for a New Audience's Souls of Naples. Sound design is by Daniel Kluger, whose credits include work with Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, and Lincoln Center Theater. Brian Brooks, whose choreography has toured nationally and internationally since 2002 and who collaborated on A Midsummer Night's Dream, is the choreographer. Renee Lutz is the production stage manager.

Trevor Nunn's most recent production in New York was in 2013 -- Samuel Beckett's All That Fall. A four-time Tony and Olivier Award-winner and former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, he's "as celebrated for his staging of blockbuster musicals (Cats, LES MISERABLES) as for his revitalizing of classic texts," wrote Ben Brantley, The New York Times.

Though Christian Camargo will be making his first appearance on the Polonsky Shakespeare Center's stage in Pericles, he performed with Theatre for a New Audience before the company had its own home: he starred in Coriolanus (2005) directed by Karin Coonrod, and Hamlet (2009, Drama League Nomination and Obie Award) directed by David Esbjornson. Mr. Camargo's Shakespearean resume includes Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, and also (for The Bridge Project in Brooklyn, in London, and on a world-wide tour) Orlando in As You Like It and Ariel in The Tempest. Other Shakespearean roles on either side of the Atlantic include major parts in Timon of Athens and Henry V. Mr. Camargo's major films include Twilight: Breaking Dawn Parts I and II, directed by Bill Condon, The Hurt Locker and K19: The Widowmaker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, directed by Jon Turteltaub. His TV work includes recurring roles in Penny Dreadful, House of Cards, Haven, and Dexter.

OBERON K.A. ADJEPONG: TFANA: Menaphon/King of Argier/Captain/Maximus, Tamburlaine the Great. Off-Broadway: Like I Say (The Flea). Regional: Ruined (La Jolla, Huntington Theatre, Berkeley Rep, PTC). TV: "The Knick" (Cinemax).

EARL BAKER JR.: Off-Broadway: Angelique (MCC); The Tempest (LaMama). Regional: After-Play (George Street Playhouse). Film: The Cobbler; Win Win; The Visitor.

PHILIP CASNOFF: Broadway: Chess; Chicago; Shogun: The Musical. TV: North and South (ABC miniseries); Sinatra (CBS miniseries; Golden Globe Award); Oz (HBO).

GIA CROVATIN: Off-Broadway: The Money Shot (MCC). Regional: reasons to be pretty; Reasons to Be Happy (LA Theatreworks). TV: "Younger" (TVLand); "Billy & Billie" (DirecTV); "The Knick" (Cinemax).

LILLY ENGLERT: TFANA: Hermia, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Cordelia, King Lear. Off-Broadway: Punk Rock (MCC). Film: upcoming Wilde Wedding.

ALEX FALBERG: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash. TV: "Daredevil" (Netflix).

BEN FERGUSON: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

CURTIS GILLEN: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

NINA HELLMAN: Off-Broadway: 10 out of 12 (Soho Rep.); Paris Commune (The Public). Film: Role Model; The Ten; Wet Hot American Summer. TV: "Wet Hot American Summer" (Netflix).

ZACHARY INFANTE: TFANA: Francis Flute, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Magnetes/Amyras, Tamburlaine the Great. Regional: Peter Pan (Paper Mill Playhouse). Film: School of Rock. TV: "Gotham" (Fox); "Alpha House" (Amazon).

PATRICE JOHNSON CHEVANNES: TFANA: Zabina/King of Syria, Tamburlaine the Great; Virgilia, Coriolanus. Broadway: Racing Demon; The Crucible. Off-Broadway: Banished Children of Eve (Irish Rep).

JOHN KEATING: TFANA: Father Francis, Much Ado About Nothing; Tranio, The Taming of the Shrew; Armostes/Phulas, The Broken Heart; Pompey, Measure for Measure. Off-Broadway: The New York Idea (Atlantic). TV: "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO); "John Adams" (HBO).

IAN LASSITER: TFANA: Assistant/Pete/Paul, Soho Rep.'s An Octoroon. Broadway: War Horse. Off-Broadway: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova).

RYAN MELIA: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

SAM MORALES: NY: It's Just Weird Now... (MCS). Regional: Romeo and Juliet; The Tavern; The Comedy of Errors (Scranton Shakespeare Festival).

RAPHAEL NASH THOMPSON: TFANA: Boatswain, The Tempest; Morocco, The Merchant of Venice. Off-Broadway: Othello (The Pearl); Black Codes from the Underground (Lincoln Center Theater). Film: Searching for Bobby Fischer.

MATT NUERNBERGER: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

ARYA SHAHI: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

MICHAEL SIBERRY: Broadway: Spamalot; Nicholas Nickleby (RSC); The Merchant of Venice; The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway: When the Rain Stops Falling (Lincoln Center Theater); As You Like It; The White Devil (BAM).

WILL SWENSON: Broadway: LES MISERABLES; Priscilla: Queen of the Desert; Hair (Tony Nom.); 110 in the Shade; Lestat; Brooklyn: The Musical. Off-Broadway: Rock of Ages; Two Gentlemen of Verona; Camelot with the New York Philharmonic.

DAN WESCHLER: Member of PigPen Theatre Co.: The Old Man and the Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash.

PIGPEN THEATRE CO.: Off-Broadway: The Old Man and The Old Moon; The Mountain Song; The Nightmare Story. Film: Ricki and the Flash. Albums: Bremen; Whole Sun.

Leadership support for Pericles is provided by The Polonsky Foundation and The Thompson Family Foundation. Additional major support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest, as well as the Rosalind P. Walter Foundation. Endowment funds for the production are provided by The Howard Gilman Foundation Fund for Classic Drama.

Single tickets, available in January 2016, will be $60-$85 and will be available for purchase online at www.tfana.org, by phone at 866-811-4111, or in person at the Theatre for a New Audience Box Office, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place. A limited number of premium seats will be available for $100.

New Deal tickets for ages 30 and under or full-time students of any age are priced at $20 each and will also be available for purchase in January 2016. Theatre for a New Audience's New Deal Ticket Program is supported by Macy's.

Subscriptions for Theatre for a New Audience's 2015-2016 Season, available now, include a Three-Play Package for $156 and a Flex Pass Package for $216. Subscriptions may be purchased at www.tfana.org/season or by calling (212) 229-2819, ext. 10. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

Photo by Walter McBride

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