Compulsion: Public announce full cast

The Public Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre have announced complete casting for Rinne Groff's Compulsion, directed by Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. The cast will feature Hannah Cabell, Matte Osian and Mandy Patinkin with puppet design by Matt Acheson.

It is 1951, and Sid Silver is on a mission to be the guardian of one of the most moving and provocative accounts of the 20th century. Deeply moved by Anne Frank's diary, he is driven to bring her story to the American masses by promoting the book's publication and adapting the diary into a work of theater.

Inspired by the story of Meyer Levin, Compulsion brings playwright Rinne Groff and Artistic Director Oskar Eustis (The Ruby Sunrise) together again with a complex and inventive telling that is part historical fiction, part investigation into what makes a man obsess, and part exploration of an untold dimension of Anne Frank's powerful and enduring legacy.

The cast features Hannah Cabell (Miss Mermin / Mrs. Silver), Matte Osian (Mr. Thomas / Mr. Harris / Mr. Ferris / Mr. Matzliach) and Mandy Patinkin (Sid Silver).

Compulsion will feature scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Michael Chybowski, sound design by Darron L West and video and projection design by Jeff Sugg.

Bios:

Rinne Groff (Playwright) is the author of several plays including The Ruby Sunrise, produced at The Public; The Five Hysterical Girls Theorem, produced at Target Margin Theater; Inky, produced at Women's Project; Jimmy Carter Was a Democrat, produced at PS 122; The Moliere Impromptu, produced at Trinity Repertory Company; Orange Lemon Egg Canary, produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival of New Plays; and What Then, produced at Clubbed Thumb. She also wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics for In the Bubble at American Musical Theatre Project and wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for Saved at Playwrights Horizons.

Oskar Eustis (Director) is the Artistic Director of The Public Theater and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country. From 1981 through 1986 he was resident director and dramaturg at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and Artistic Director until 1989, when he moved to the L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as Associate Artistic Director until 1994. Eustis then served as Artistic Director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island for eleven years. In 2005 he took the helm at New York's Public Theater.

Hannah Cabell (Miss Mermin / Mrs. Silver) was last seen on Broadway in the revival of 'A Man for All Seasons' at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Other New York credits include 'Gentleman Caller' at Clubbed Thumb, 'Jane Eyre' at The Acting Company, 'Mark Smith and The Zero Hour' at 13P, 'Millicent Scowlworthy' at the Summer Play Festival and 'Pumpgirl' at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Matte Osian (Mr. Thomas / Mr. Harris / Mr. Ferris / Mr. Matzliach) has appeared on Broadway in 'Twelfth Night' at Lincoln Center and 'Twelve Angry Men' for the Roundabout Theatre Company. His off-Broadway credits include 'Silence,' 'Cunning,' 'Exile' for The Public Theater, 'The Adjustment' with the Jewish Repertory Theater, the New York premiere of 'Portia Coughlan' at the Times Square Theatre, 'Portraits' at Union Square Theatre, 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' with Al Pacino, for the National Actors Theatre, and 'Souls of Naples' (with John Turturro) for Theatre for a New Audience, which toured to Naples, Italy.

Mandy Patinkin (Sid Silver) won the Tony Award for his Broadway debut in 'Evita' and was again nominated for 'Sunday in the Park with George' and 'The Wild Party.' He also performed on Broadway in 'Falsettos,' 'The Secret Garden,' 'The Shadow Box,' 'Trelawny of the 'Wells'' and his solo concerts 'Celebrating Sondheim,' 'Dress Casual' and 'Mamaloshen.' For The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, Patinkin appeared in 'Dress Casual,' 'Hamlet,' 'Henry IV, Part 1,' 'The Knife,' 'Leave It to Beaver Is Dead,' 'Rebel Women' and 'The Winter's Tale.'