Much Ado About Nothing announces additional casting
The Public Theater has announced additional casting for Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Jack O'Brien, beginning previews on 03 Jun 2014 with an official opening set for 16 Jun 2014 and running until 06 July 2014, at the Delacorte Theater.
As previously reported, Tony nominee Lily Rabe will star as 'Beatrice' and Obie Award winner Hamish Linklater as 'Benedick'. Joing them will be Steel Burkhardt (Balthasar), Austin Durant (Friar Francis, Sexton), John Glover (Leonato), David Manis (Antonio, Verges), Kathryn Meisle (Ursula), Ismenia Mendes (Hero), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Don Pedro), John Pankow (Dogberry), Pedro Pascal (Don John), Eric Sheffer Stevens (Borachio), and Zoë Winters (Margaret). The non-equity ensemble includes Matt Bittner, Alex Breaux, Paco Lozano, and Matthew Russell.
Linklater most recently performed in 'The Comedy of Errors' last summer, while Rabe was in the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park production of 'As You Like It.' They both performed in Daniel Sullivan's 2010 production of 'The Merchant of Venice.'
Much Ado About Nothing was first staged at the Delacorte in 1972 and was directed by A. J. Antoon, featuring Sam Waterston as 'Benedick' and Kathleen Widdoes as 'Beatrice.' It was also performed at the Delacorte in 1988, directed by Gerald Freedman and featuring Kevin Kline as 'Benedic,' and Blythe Danner as 'Beatrice.' It was last staged at the Delacorte in 2004, directed by David Esbjornson, featuring Jimmy Smits as 'Benedick' and Kristen Johnston as 'Beatrice.'
The creative team for Much Ado About Nothing features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by ACME Sound Partners, and original music by David Yazbek.
Bios:
Steel Burkhardt (Balthasar) is best known for his role in 'Hair' at The Public Theater's Delacorte Theater, as well as the Broadway transfer, London transfer, and the national tour. Other theatre credits include 'Murder Ballad', 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Kiss Me, Kate'.
Austin Durant (Friar Francis, Sexton) recently appeared on Broadway in 'Macbeth' and 'War Horse'. Other theatre credits include 'Death of a Salesman', 'Passion Play', 'A Doctor in Spite of Himself', 'The Illusion', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', 'The Fantasticks', 'Othello', and 'Jelly's Last Jam'.
John Glover (Leonato) has appeared at The Public in 'Subjects to Fits' and 'Rebel Women'. His Broadway credits include 'Hamlet', 'Death of a Salesman', 'The Royal Family', 'Waiting for Godot', 'The Drowsy Chaperone', 'Tartuffe', 'Love! Valour! Compassion!', 'Design For Living', and 'Whodunnit'.
Hamish Linklater (Benedick). has performed at The Public Theater in 'The Comedy of Errors', 'The Merchant of Venice', 'The Winter's Tale', 'Twelfth Night', 'Hamlet', 'The Square' and 'Love's Fire'. His Broadway credits include 'Seminar', and his additional Off-Broadway credits include 'The Vandal' (Flea Theater), 'The School for Lies', 'The Busy World Is Hushed', 'Recent Tragic Events' and 'Good Thing'.
David Manis (Antonio, Verges) has appeared at The Public in 'All's Well That Ends Well' and 'Measure for Measure' at the Delacorte, as well as 'Timon Of Athens' and 'Henry IV Parts I and II'. His Broadway credits include the upcoming 'Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time', 'War Horse', 'Exit The King', 'The Coast Of Utopia', 'The Rivals', 'Henry IV', 'Arcadia'. He has also appeared Off-Broadway in 'Our Town'.
Kathryn Meisle (Ursula) has appeared in The Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park productions of 'Othello' and 'Twelfth Night'. Her Broadway credits include 'A Touch of the Poet', 'The Constant Wife', 'Tartuffe', 'London Assurance', 'The Rehearsal', and 'Racing Demon'. Her Off-Broadway credits include 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Living Out', 'Old Money', and 'What You Get and What You Expect'.
Ismenia Mendes (Hero) is currently appearing Off-Broadway as Bernie in 'Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra' (Playwrights Horizons). Other Off-Broadway credits include A.R Gurney's 'Family Furniture' (The Flea), and 'Baby Screams Miracle' (Clubbed Thumb).
Brian Stokes Mitchell (Don Pedro) is a Tony Award winner who has appeared on Broadway in 'Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', 'Man of La Mancha', August Wilson's 'King Hedley II', 'Kiss Me, Kate', 'Ragtime', 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', 'Jelly's Last Jam', 'Oh, Kay!' and 'Mail'. Other theatre credits include 'Do Re Mi', 'Carnival', 'Kismet', 'Sweeny Todd', 'Les Misérables', and 'Guys and Dolls'.
John Pankow (Dogberry) has appeared in The Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park productions of 'Two Gentleman of Verona', 'The Tempest', 'Measure for Measure', and at The Public in 'Ice Cream with Hot Fudge' and 'Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them'. His Broadway credits include 'Cymbeline', 'Twelve Angry Men', 'Serious Money', 'The Iceman Cometh', and 'Amadeus'. His additional Off-Broadway credits include 'Medieval Play', 'The Taming of the Shrew', 'Equivocation'.
Pedro Pascal (Don John) has appeared at The Public's Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Macbeth' at the Delacorte. His additional Off-Broadway credits include 'Maple and Vine', 'Old Comedy After Aristophane's Frogs', 'Sand', 'Some Men', 'Based on a Totally True Story', and 'Beauty of the Father'. He also currently appears on television in HBO's 'Game of Thrones'.
Lily Rabe (Beatrice) is a Tony Award nominee who has previously performed at The Public in Shakespeare in the Park productions of 'As You Like It', 'The Merchant of Venice'. She has starred on Broadway in 'Seminar', 'The Merchant of Venice', 'The American Plan', 'Heartbreak House', and 'Steel Magnolias'. Her Off-Broadway and regional credits include 'Miss Julie', 'A Doll's House', 'Crimes of the Heart', 'Colder Than Here' and 'Proof'. She is also widely known for her TV role on the FX series 'American Horror Story'.
Eric Sheffer Stevens (Borachio) has appeared on Broadway in 'The Coast of Utopia: Parts I-III' and 'King Lear'. Other theatre credits include 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Chained to the Moon', and 'The Captives'.
Zoë Winters (Margaret) has appeared Off-Broadway in 'Love and Information', '4000 Miles', and 'Love Song'.
Tickets to The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park are free and are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the day of the show.
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