Keynote Conversation: Anna Deveare Smith and Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean

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Performers

Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean

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Keynote Speaker

Anna Deavere Smith

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Keynote Speaker

Setting

Songs & Scenes

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Production Staff

Long Wharf Theatre Staff

Artistic Director - Long Wharf Theatre

Jacob G. Padrón

Managing Director

Kit Ingui

Interim Managing Director

Eric Gershman

Associate Artistic Director - Long Wharf Theatre

Rachel Alderman

General Manager

Emily Goeler

Director of Production

Nicole Bouclier

Company Manager

Vanessa Soto

Patron Services Manager

Carolyn Stockage

Director of Finance

Nancy Meguerditchian

Executive Coordinator

Jessica Durdock Moreno

Assistant Director of Production

Allison Jackson Backhaus

Associate Producer

Kate Moore Heaney

Director of Marketing and Communications

Avery Anderson

Director of Development

Briona Jenkins

External Relations Operations Manager

Jill Coulter

Creative Content Manager

Kelly Brown

Video Producer

Kahleem Poole-Tejada

Graphic Designer

Dajvi Selmani

Elm City Tickets Manager

Emma Joy Hill

AP/AR Manager

Geoffrey Molloy

Individual Giving Coordinator

Halima Flynn

Assistant Box Office Manager

Maig Smith

Box Office Associate

Ronald Hill

Yale Staff

Executive Director - Schwarzman Center

Rachel Fine

Associate Artistic - Director Schwarzman Center

Jennifer Newman

Director of Production

Robert Chikar

Director of Marketing & Communications

Maurice L. Harris

Director of Finance and Administration

Meg O'Brian

Deputy Director

Laura Paul

Technical Director

Joel Johnson

Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives

Natalie King

Special Advisor to Schwarzman Center

Kate Krier

Building & Program Logistics Manager

Kirk D. Keen

Business Manager

Bonnie Kramm

Visitor Services Manager

Christian Ponce

Woolsey Hall Stage Manager

Kito Covington

Marketing Manager

Sarah Ficca

Exhibitions & Bookings Manager

Carlynne Robinson

Associate Production Manager

Jessi Codder

Senior Administrative Assistant

Madison Grady

Financial Assistant

Daryl MacMillan

Assistant Technical Director (AV)

Kino Alvarez

Production Electrician

Katie Brown

Sound Engineer

Adam Bintz

Venue Staff

School Administration Staff

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Musicians

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DIRECTORS

Board Chair

Nancy Alexander

Vice- Chair

William J. Aseltyne, Esq.

Secretary

Babz Rawls Ivy

Treasurer

Jenny Carrillo, PhD

Honorary Founder Trustee

Anne Schenck

Board Members

Kenneth Boroson Gail Brekke Diane Brown Lee Cruz Cathy Edwards Robert Esposito Barbara Franke Abdul-Rehman Malik Victor Padilla-Taylor Joseph Roach Constance Royster JD Anita Sharif-Hyder

Student Advisory Board

Credits

Lighting equipment from PRG Lighting, sound equipment from Sound Associates, rehearsed at The Public Theater’s Rehearsal Studios. Developed as part of Irons in the Fire at Fault Line Theatre in New York City.

Special Thanks

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

“Actors’ Equity Association (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an International organization of performing arts unions. www.actorsequity.org

United Scenic Artists ● Local USA 829 of the I.A.T.S.E represents the Designers & Scenic Artists for the American Theatre

ATPAM, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers (IATSE Local 18032), represents the Press Agents, Company Managers, and Theatre Managers employed on this production.

Meet the Cast

Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean

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Keynote Speaker

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Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean is an award-winning scholar and author of Identity Politics in the United States. She is Wesleyan University Professor and Executive Director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. She's also a frequent contributor to media outlets across all platforms.
With a keen eye toward the practical implications of democratic conflict, Dr. Brown-Dean is a preeminent expert on issues of American politics, criminal punishment, mass incarceration, voting rights, and U.S. elections. In 2021 she was recognized by the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame as a Spotlight Recipient for her work on justice and civic engagement.

Anna Deavere Smith

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Keynote Speaker

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Anna Deavere Smith is credited with having created a new form of theater. Her plays,which focus on contemporary issues from multiple points of view, are composed of interview excerpts. President Obama awarded Smith the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. She’s the recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, several Obie awards, and the George Polk Career Award in Journalism. She was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize and nominated for two Tony Awards. Plays and films based on them include Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles, Let Me Down Easy, and Notes from the Field about the school-to-prison pipeline. Television and film acting includes: Inventing Anna, The West Wing, Nurse Jackie, Black-ish. Philadelphia, The American President, and Rachel Getting Married, She’s a professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has several honorary doctorate degrees including those from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Spelman College and Juilliard and Oxford.

Meet the Team

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2021 National Touring Cast

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While You Wait

With the help of our friends at Theatrely.com, Marquee Digital has you covered with exclusive content while you wait for the curtain to rise.

Broadway’s Top Influencer Agency OUR TIME INFLUENCE Announces Key Expansion Of Staff

Kobi Kassal

September 16, 2026

Your favorite influencer’s favorite influencer agency is growing. Today, it was announced that Our Time Influence, founded by Carly Heitner, has appointed Amanda Chin as the Chief Operating Officer of the company.

In her new role, Chin will work alongside Heitner to oversee operations and support the company’s continued growth and expansion.

“Bringing Amanda on as COO is such an exciting next step for Our Time Influence,” said Heitner. “As the company continues to grow, I knew I wanted someone who could help us think bigger, build smarter and take what we’ve created to the next level. I’m so excited to have Amanda joining me in this next chapter.”

Chin’s appointment comes as OTI continues to expand its work across Broadway, live entertainment, arts and culture. As chief operating officer, Chin will oversee the business development, day-to-day operations, and work closely with Heitner on the company’s long-term strategy and growth.

“What Carly built with Our Time Influence in such a short time is incredibly exciting, and I’m thrilled to be joining the company at such a pivotal moment,” said Chin. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to continue building on that momentum, and I’m looking forward to working alongside Carly to scale the business, strengthen operations and help shape what comes next.”

Amanda Chin joins OTI as chief operating officer after four years at Tony Award-winning producing and general management company Wagner Johnson Productions, where she worked on more than 30 productions, including Stereophonic, Good Night, and Good Luck, John Proctor is the Villain, and Oedipus. Beyond her work in theater production, Amanda volunteers with the National Asian Artists Project and helped develop the NAAP Broadway Community Chorus, which has grown from performances at PS 124 to a residency at the Edison Hotel.

SPRING AWAKENING Has Found Its Cast Off-Broadway

Kobi Kassal

September 16, 2026

Into the woods…? Seaview has announced the complete principal cast for Spring Awakening, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s seminal musical based on the play by Frank Wedekind. Previews are set to begin Friday, November 27, 2026.

The company includes Jack Bateman as ‘Georg,’ Jada Simone Clark as ‘Thea,’ Leif Coomer as ‘Ernst,’ Ryo Kamibayashi as ‘Moritz,’ newly minted Theatrely31: Class of 2026 Ashlyn Maddox as ‘Wendla,’ Nando Morland as ‘Otto,’ Antonio Porciello as ‘Hanschen,’ Khadija Sankoh as ‘Martha,’ Grace Slear as ‘Anna,’ Tyler Jordan Wesley as ‘Melchior,’ and Amalia Yoo as ‘Ilse.’ Bateman and Porciello were among the cast members selected from the production’s open casting call in July, through which 2,532 performers were seen.

"Seaview is incredibly proud to bring this extraordinary work back to the stage at Studio Seaview and to have the opportunity to introduce New York audiences to a remarkable new generation of talent,” said producer Greg Nobile. “This is an exceptional group of actors who are fearless, deeply talented, and represent the future of our industry. We feel incredibly honored to give them the opportunity to bring their unique voices to this seminal work. They are the kind of artists who make you excited about where theater is headed next."

A limited number of in-person, front row rush tickets will be available through Saturday, December 12 on the day of each preview for $40 per ticket when the Studio Seaview box office opens. Maximum of two tickets per person, subject to availability.

Joining previously announced creative team members Taymor, Rowlson-Hall, and Matias are Christine Jones & Brett Banakis (Scenic Design), Kaye Voyce (Costume Designer), Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design), Cody Spencer (Sound Design), Jeremy Chernick (Special Effects Designer), Cynthia Meng (Music Director/Conductor), David Lai (Music Coordinator), Ann James (Intimacy Coordinator), Drew Leary (Fight Coordinator), C.A. Johnson (Creative Consultant), Miranda Cornell (Associate Director), Gigi Buffington (Voice & Text Coach), and The TRC Company / Xavier Rubiano, CSA and Peter Van Dam, CSA (Casting). Elizabeth Allen serves as the Production Stage Manager. Sean Gorski / Hudson Theatrical Associates serves as Production Manager with Jonathan Whitton / Seaview as General Manager.

This new production will bring Spring Awakening into an intimate Off-Broadway setting, returning the musical to the raw force and urgency of Frank Wedekind’s once-banned 1891 play. Feral, honest, compassionate, and unflinching, the production will explore the experience of young people caught between desire, repression, fear, and discovery — then and now.

To purchase tickets and for more information about Spring Awakening, please visit springawakening.com

Rosie O’Donnell Returns To Broadway For Short Stint In THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW This October

Alan Koolik

September 16, 2026

If you missed her one-woman show earlier this summer, don’t fret! Today it was announced that comedian Rosie O’Donnell will return to Broadway in Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show as the “Narrator” for a two-week special limited run from Tuesday, October 6 through Sunday, October 18, 2026. She steps in for Rachel Dratch who will step aside for two weeks but returns Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

The Rocky Horror Show cast currently includes Lorna Courtney as “Janet”, Rachel Dratch as “Narrator,” Amber Gray as “Riff Raff,” Kevin McHale as “Brad”, Jimin Moon as “Rocky”, George Salazar as “Eddie/Dr. Scott”, Sherie Rene Scott as “Magenta”, Jake Shears as “Frank-N-Furter”, Valentina as “Columbia” as well as Renée Albulario, Anania, Boy Radio, Tassy Kirbas, Preston Perez, Caleb Quezon, Andres Quintero, Larkin Reilly, Paul Soileau and John Yi.

Tickets for the critically and widely-acclaimed musical have been extended twice since the show opened, and are currently on sale through Sunday, February 28, 2027 at Studio 54 on Broadway.

The Rocky Horror Show directed by Tony Award-winner Sam Pinkleton began previews on March 26, 2026, and opened officially on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The creative and design team includes choreography by Theatrely31: Class of 2026 Ani Taj, music supervision by Kris Kukul, set design by dots, costume design by David I. Reynoso, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Brian Ronan, wig & hair design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado and make-up design by Sterling Tull.

Theatrely News

EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon

Theatrely News

READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT

Theatrely News

"Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes"

EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon

By: Maia Penzer

14 July 2023

Finally, summer has arrived, which can only mean one thing: it's time for camp! Theater Camp, that is. Theatrely has a sneak peak at the new film which hits select theaters today.

The new original comedy starring Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon we guarantee will have you laughing non-stop. The AdirondACTS, a run-down theater camp in upstate New York, is attended by theater-loving children who must work hard to keep their beloved theater camp afloat after the founder, Joan, falls into a coma.

The film stars Ben Platt and Molly Gordon as Amos Klobuchar and Rebecca-Diane, respectively, as well as Noah Galvin as Glenn Wintrop, Jimmy Tatro as Troy Rubinsky, Patti Harrison as Caroline Krauss, Nathan Lee Graham as Clive DeWitt, Ayo Edebiri as Janet Walch, Owen Thiele as Gigi Charbonier, Caroline Aaron as Rita Cohen, Amy Sedaris as Joan Rubinsky, and Alan Kim as Alan Park.

Theater Camp was directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and written by Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman & Ben Platt. Music is by James McAlister and Mark Sonnenblick. On January 21, 2023, Theater Camp had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

You can purchase tickets to the new film from our friends at Hollywood.com here.

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READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT

By: Kobi Kassal

29 May 2023

Actor Sean Hayes is what we in the biz call booked and blessed. On top of his Tony-nominated performance as Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar, Hayes has partnered with Todd Milliner and Carlyn Greenwald for the release of their new YA novel Time Out.

Heralded by many as Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights, Time Out follows hometown basketball hero Barclay Elliot who decides to use a pep rally to come out to his school. When the response is not what he had hoped and the hostility continually growing, he turns to his best friend Amy who brings him to her voting rights group at school. There he finds Christopher and… you will just have to grab a copy and find out what happens next. Luckily for you, Time Out hits shelves on May 30 and to hold you over until then we have a special except from the book just for Theatrely:

The good thing about not being on the team the past two weeks has been that I’ve had time to start picking up shifts again at Beau’s diner and save up a little for college now that my scholarship dreams are over.

The bad part is it’s the perfect place to see how my actions at the pep rally have rotted the townspeople’s brains too.

During Amy’s very intense musical theater phase in middle school, her parents took her to New York City. And of course she came back home buzzing about Broadway and how beautiful the piss smell was and everything artsy people say about New York. But she also vividly described some diner she waited three hours to get into where the waitstaff would all perform songs for the customers as a way to practice for auditions. The regulars would have favorite staff members and stan them the way Amy stans all her emo musicians.

Working at Beau’s used to feel kind of like that, like I was part of a performance team I didn’t know I signed up for. The job started off pretty basic over the summer—I wanted to save up for basketball supplies, and Amy worked there and said it was boring ever since her e-girl coworker friend graduated. But I couldn’t get through a single lunch rush table without someone calling me over and wanting the inside scoop on the Wildcats and how we were preparing for the home opener, wanting me to sign an article in the paper or take a photo. Every friendly face just made the resolve grow inside me. People love and support the Wildcats; they would do the same for me.

Yeah, right.

Now just like school, customers have been glaring at me, making comments about letting everyone down, about being selfish, about my actions being “unfortunate,” and the tips have been essentially nonexistent. The Wildcats have been obliterated in half their games since I quit, carrying a 2–3 record when last year we were 5–0, and the comments make my feet feel like lead weights I have to drag through every shift.

Today is no different. It’s Thursday, the usual dinner rush at Beau’s, and I try to stay focused on the stress of balancing seven milkshakes on one platter. A group of regulars, some construction workers, keep loudly wondering why I won’t come back to the team while I refuse proper eye contact.

One of the guys looks up at me as I drop the bill off. “So, what’s the deal? Does being queer keep ya from physically being able to play?”

They all snicker as they pull out crumpled bills. I stuff my hands into my pockets, holding my tongue.

When they leave, I hold my breath as I take their bill.

Sure enough, no tip.

“What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath.

“Language,” Amy says as she glides past me, imitating the way Richard says it to her every shift, and adds, “even though they are dicks.” At least Amy’s been ranting about it every free chance she gets. It was one thing when the student body was being shitty about me leaving the team, but the town being like this is even more infuriating. She doesn’t understand how these fully grown adults can really care that much about high school basketball and thinks they need a new fucking hobby. I finally agree with her.

[She’s wearing red lipstick to go with her raccoon-adjacent eyeliner as she rushes off to prepare milkshakes for a pack of middle schoolers. I catch her mid–death glare as all three of the kids rotate in their chairs, making the old things squeal. My anger fades a bit as I can’t help but chuckle; Amy’s pissed-off reaction to Richard telling her to smile more was said raccoon makeup, and her tolerance for buffoonery has been at a negative five to start and declining fast.

I rest my arms on the counter and try not to look as exhausted as I feel.

“Excuse me!” an old lady screeches, making me jump.

Amy covers up a laugh as I head to the old lady and her husband’s table. They’ve got finished plates, full waters. Not sure what the problem is. Or I do, which is worse.

“Yes?” I say trying to suppress my annoyance.

“Could you be bothered to serve us?”

Only five more hours on shift. I have a break in three minutes. I’ll be with Devin at Georgia Tech tomorrow. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” I say, so careful to keep my words even, but I can feel my hands balling into fists. “What would you—?”

And suddenly Amy swoops in, dropping two mugs of coffee down. “Sorry about that, you two,” she says, her voice extra high. “The machine was conking out on us, but it’s fine now.”

Once the coffee is down, she hooks onto a chunk of my shirt, steering us back to the bar.

“Thanks,” I mutter, embarrassed to have forgotten something so basic. Again.

“Just keep it together, man,” she says. “Maybe you’d be better off with that creepy night shift where all the truckers and serial killers come in.”

Honestly, at least the serial killers wouldn’t care about my jump shot.

It’s a few minutes before my break, but clearly I need it. “I’ll be in the back room.”

Right before I can head that way though, someone straight-up bursts into the diner and rushes over to me at the bar. It’s a middle-aged dad type, sunburned skin, beer belly, and stained T-shirt.

“Pickup order?” I ask.

“You should be ashamed,” he sneers at me. He has a really strong Southern accent, but it’s not Georgian. “Think you’re so high and mighty, that nothing’ll ever affect you? My kid’ll never go to college because of you and your lifestyle. Fuck you, Barclay Ell—”

And before this man can finish cursing my name, Pat of all people runs in, wide-eyed in humiliation. “Jesus, Dad, please don’t—”

I pin my gaze on him, remembering how he cowered on the bench as Ostrowski went off, how he didn’t even try to approach me. “Don’t even bother,” I snap.

I shove a to-go bag into his dad’s arms, relieved it’s prepaid, and storm off to the break room.]

Amy finds me head in my arms a minute or two later. I look up, rubbing my eyes. “Please spare me the pity.”

She snorts and hands me a milkshake. Mint chocolate chip. “Wouldn’t dare.” She takes a seat and rolls her shoulders and neck, cracks sounding through the tiny room. “Do you want a distraction or a shoulder to cry on?”

For more information, and to purchase your copy of Time Out, click here.

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Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes

By: Kaitlyn Riggio

5 July 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States in March 2020, Broadway veteran stage manager Richard Hester watched the nation’s anxiety unfold on social media.

“No one knew what the virus was going to do,” Hester said. Some people were “losing their minds in abject terror, and then there were some people who were completely denying the whole thing.”

For Hester, the reaction at times felt like something out of a movie. “It was like the Black Plague,” he said. “Some people thought it was going to be like that Monty Python sketch: ‘bring out your dead, bring out your dead.’”

While Hester was also unsure about how the virus would unfold, he felt that his “job as a stage manager is to naturally defuse drama.” Hester brought this approach off the stage and onto social media in the wake of the pandemic.

“I just sort of synthesized everything that was happening into what I thought was a manageable bite, so people could get it,” Hester said. This became a daily exercise for a year. Over two years after the beginning of the pandemic, Hester’s accounts are compiled in the book, Hold Please: Stage Managing A Pandemic. Released earlier this year, the book documents the events of the past two years, filtering national events and day-to-day occurrences through a stage manager’s eyes and storytelling.

When Hester started this project, he had no intention of writing a book. He was originally writing every day because there was nothing else to do. “I am somebody who needs a job or needs a structure,” Hester said.

Surprised to find that people began expecting his daily posts, he began publishing his daily writing to his followers through a Substack newsletter. As his following grew, Hester had to get used to writing for an audience. “I started second guessing myself a lot of the time,” Hester said. “It just sort of put a weird pressure on it.”

Hester said he got especially nervous before publishing posts in which he wrote about more personal topics. For example, some of his posts focused on his experiences growing up in South Africa while others centered on potentially divisive topics, such as the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Despite some of this discomfort, Hester’s more personal posts were often the ones that got the most response. The experience offered him a writing lesson. “I stopped worrying about the audience and just wrote what I wanted to write about,” Hester said. “All of that pressure that I think as artists we put on ourselves, I got used to it.”

One of Hester’s favorite anecdotes featured in the book centers on a woman who dances in Washington Square Park on a canvas, rain or shine. He said he was “mesmerized by her,” which inspired him to write about her. “It was literally snowing and she was barefoot on her canvas dancing, and that seems to me just a spectacularly beautiful metaphor for everything that we all try and do, and she was living that to the fullest.”

During the creation of Hold Please, Hester got the unique opportunity to reflect in-depth on the first year of the pandemic by looking back at his accounts. He realized that post people would not remember the details of the lockdown; people would “remember it as a gap in their lives, but they weren’t going to remember it beat by beat.”

“Reliving each of those moments made me realize just how full a year it was, even though none of us were doing anything outside,” he adds. “We were all on our couches.” Readers will use the book as a way to relive moments of the pandemic’s first year “without having to wallow in the misery of it,” he hopes.

“I talk about the misery of it, but that’s not the focus of what I wrote... it was about hope and moving forward,” Hester said. “In these times when everything is so difficult, we will figure out a way to get through and we will move forward.”

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