AN OCTOROON Extends Through July at Berkeley Rep

Following an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and audiences, Berkeley Rep has announced that the West Coast premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon will extend for an additional week. Originally scheduled to close on July 23, the provocative play will now run through Saturday, July 29.

Starting today, tickets for the added six performances can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org and by phone at 510 647-2949.

Playwright and 2016 MacArthur Fellow Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won the Obie Award for his radical, incendiary, and subversively funny riff on Dion Boucicault's once-popular 1859 mustache-twirling melodrama. Judge Peyton is dead, and his plantation Terrebonne is on the brink of foreclosure. George, the high-minded heir apparent, falls for the lovely Zoe, who is one-eighth black. But the bigoted plantation queen has eyes for George, and the dastardly overseer M'Closky plots to keep Zoe and Terrebonne for himself. A spectacular collision of the antebellum South and 21st-century cultural politics.

Cast members include Afi Bijou (Minnie), Jasmine Bracey (Dido), Afua Busia (Grace), Lance Gardner (BJJ/George/M'Closky), Sydney Morton (Zoe), Lisa Quoresimo (Br'er Rabbit), Ray Porter (Playwright/Wahnotee/Lafouche), Jennifer Regan (Dora), and Amir Talai (Assistant/Pete/Paul).

The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic designer), Montana Blanco (costume designer), Jiyon Chang (lighting designer), and Jake Rodriguez (sound designer).

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed nearly 400 shows at Berkeley Rep. These shows have gone on to win five Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, one Grammy Award, and many other honors. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. Its bustling facilities - which include the 400-seat Peet's Theatre, the 600-seat Roda Theatre, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, and a spacious campus in West Berkeley - are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org.