In the Wake: Public announces cast

The Public Theater has announced the cast for their New York premiere production of Lisa Kron's In the Wake, opening at the Public on on 1 Nov 2010, following previews from 19 Oct and running through to 21 Nov 2010.

Directed by Leigh Silverman, In the Wake will star Jenny Bacon, Michael Chernus, Miriam F. Glover, Marin Ireland, Deirdre O'Connell, Susan Pourfar and Danielle Skraastad.

In the Wake: It's Thanksgiving of 2000 and the presidential election still has not been decided. Ellen insists that her friends and family don't understand how bad the situation really is. But no one—not her loving partner, Danny, nor the passionate Amy, nor the brutally pragmatic and world-weary Judy—can make Ellen see the blind spot at the center of her own politics and emotional life.

"Lisa Kron has written a brilliant and important new play, and we've assembled a cast to match," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "In decades to come, when people want to know how Americans lived and thought and loved in the first decade of this millennium, they will turn to In The Wake with joy and wonder."

In the Wake was originally commissioned by Center Theatre Group and received its world premiere in Los Angeles in March 2010.

In the Wake will feature scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting and projection design by Alexander V. Nichols, and sound design by Darron L West.

Lisa Kron's (Writer) best-known plays include 'Well' (included in Best Plays of 2004 and produced on Broadway in 2006 in a production that earned two Tony nominations) and '2.5 Minute Ride' (Obie). Honors include Guggenheim, Lortel, Lark and Sundance fellowships, and awards from Creative Capital and the Alpert Foundation. Lisa is a founding member of the Obie and Bessie-Award-winning theatre company 'The Five Lesbian Brothers.' In the works: a new musical with composer Jeanine Tesori, as well as commissioned plays from the Sloan Foundation with Playwrights Horizons and from Drew University. Kron teaches playwriting at Yale School of Drama.

Leigh Silverman (Director) made her Broadway debut directing Kron's 'Well.' Earlier this year she directed the world premiere co-production of 'In The Wake' at Center Theatre Group and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She has directed more than 15 world premieres including: 'From Up Here' (Manhattan Theatre Club, Drama Desk nomination), 'Coraline' (MCC/True Love), 'Yellow Face' (The Public Theater and Center Theatre Group), 'Beebo Brinker Chronicles' (Hourglass Group/37 Arts), 'Hunting and Gathering' (Primary Stages), 'Well' (The Public Theater, The Huntington Theatre and ACT), 'Blue Door' (Playwrights Horizons and Seattle Repertory Theatre) and 'Oedipus At Palm Springs' (New York Theatre Workshop). Upcoming productions include David Greenspan's 'Go Back To Where You Are' (Playwrights Horizons) and David Henry Hwang's 'Chinglish' (Goodman Theatre and The Public Theater).

Jenny Bacon (Amy) has numerous New York theater credits including 'The Orphan of Zhao' at Lincoln Center Festival, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated 'Omnium Gatherum,' Carson McCullers '(Historically Inaccurate)' at the Julia Miles, 'Race' at Classic Stage, Ivo van Hove's productions of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'More Stately Mansions' at New York Theatre Workshop, and 'The Arabian Nights' at Manhattan Theatre Club. She has been nominated for Jefferson and Helen Hayes Awards as Best Actress.

Michael Chernus (Danny) last appeared at The Public in the Public LAB production of 'The Poor Itch' by John Belluso. His New York credits include 'The Aliens,' 'Rag & Bone,' and 'Finer Noble Gases' at Rattlestick, 'Hunting and Gathering' at Primary Stages, 'Essential Self-Defense' at Playwrights Horizons, 'Mr. Marmalade' at Roundabout, and 'Living Room in Africa' at Edge Theater.

Miriam F. Glover (Tessa) recently appeared in the West Coast premiere of Danai Gurira's 'Eclipsed' at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Her other credits include 'St. Joan and the Dancing Sickness' at Open Fist Theatre's First Look Festival, a workshop of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Neighbors' at the Matrix Theater Company, and numerous productions, including Shakespeare, Shaw, and Brecht, at the University of Southern California.

Marin Ireland (Ellen) was most recently seen off-Broadway in The New Group's production of 'A Lie of The Mind.' She has appeared on Broadway in 'After Miss Julie' and 'Reasons To Be Pretty' (Tony nomination,). She made her Public Theater debut in the 2005 production of 'The Ruby Sunrise' by Rinne Groff and has appeared off-Broadway in 'Blasted,' 'Cyclone' (Obie), 'The Beebo Brinker Chronicles,' 'Bad Jazz,' 'The Harlequin Studies,' 'The Triple Happiness,' 'Manuscript,' 'Fighting Words,' 'Savannah Bay,' 'Where We're Born,' 'Sabina,' 'Far Away' and 'Nocturne.'

Deirdre O'Connell (Judy) recently appeared off-Broadway in Annie Baker's 'Circle Mirror Transformation.' Her last role at The Public was in John Belluso's 'The Poor Itch' at Public LAB. She has performed at New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, The Play Company, Rattlestick, Signature Theatre, Vital Theatre Company, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Labyrinth, Sundance Theatre Lab, New York Stage and Film, Classic Stage Company and the Keen Company and received two Drama-Logue Awards, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Obie for Sustained Excellence of Performance.

Susan Pourfar (Kayla) has appeared at The Public in 'The Singing Forest' and 'The Poor Itch.' She most recently performed off-Broadway in 'When The Rain Stops Falling' at Lincoln Center Theater. Her additional New York appearances include productions at MTC, Second Stage, Atlantic, The Play Company, Rattlestick, and the Century Center for the Performing Arts.

Danielle Skraastad (Laurie) appeared on Broadway in 'All My Sons.' She has also been seen in New York in 'The Pain and the Itch' (Playwrights Horizons), 'Anon' (Atlantic), 'Carrie' (PS 122), 'Fugue' (Cherry Lane), 'The One That Flutters' (Summer Play Festival), 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (The Continuum Co.), 'Lascivious Something' (Cherry Lane Mentor Project), 'Cressida Among the Greeks,' 'Red-Haired Thomas' (Ohio Theater) and 'Save The World' (Roundtable Ensemble).