The Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company announces its casting for its 58th season, along with the sale of single-show tickets. The 2021-22 Season includes four shows: Tiny Beautiful Things, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, Sueño, and Fairview. Tickets for A Christmas Carol, which runs in-person November 4, 2021 – January 2, 2022 and online December 6, 2021 – January 16, 2022, went on sale in August. Details and ticket information for all shows can be found at www.trinityrep.com/2122.
“Returning to live performance at Trinity Rep is already an exciting prospect for so many folks, and we wanted to meet their return with unique, rich programming, and extraordinary artists,” Artistic Director Curt Columbus said. “Audiences returning to Rhode Island’s state theater will also see extraordinary artists, many familiar to our longtime fans. It is a winning combination that is certain to delight.”
Kicking off the season in early 2022 is Tiny Beautiful Things, an intimate, heartwarming production based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed. It was adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, and co-conceived by her, Marshall Heyman, and Thomas Kail. Directed by Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus, Tiny Beautiful Things follows the anonymous advice columnist “Sugar” as she answers the pleas of the letters she receives while confronting her own demons. Resident actor Angela Brazil will play the role of Sugar. Various letter writers will be played by resident actors Stephen Berenson, Janice Duclos, Phyllis Kay, Brian McEleney, and Daniel Duque-Estrada, along with Brown/Trinity Rep MFA student Han Van Sciver. Gunnar Manchester, also a Brown/Trinity Rep student, will perform the show’s music. The show will run from January 13 through February 13, 2022 in the Dowling Theater.
Legendary playwright August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean is the next show in the season, directed by resident company member Jude Sandy. The first play chronologically in Wilson’s American Century Cycle, Gem of the Ocean tackles themes of guilt, community, and the legacy of slavery. Longtime Trinity Rep collaborator Ricardo Pitts-Wiley will play Solly Two-Kings and MFA student Christopher Lindsay will play Citizen Barlow. Also in the cast are resident actor Joe Wilson, Jr. as Caesar, MFA student Lizzy Brooks as Black Mary, and resident actor Mauro Hantman as Rutherford Selig. Gem of the Ocean will play in the Chace Theater February 24 through March 27, 2022.
The season continues with the comedic epic Sueño by José Rivera, a contemporary adaptation of the Spanish Golden Age classic Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Directed by resident company member and Brown/Trinity MFA alum Tatyana-Marie Carlo, the show features resident actors Daniel Duque-Estrada as the cursed prince Segismundo and Anne Scurria as King Basilio. Additional cast members include Charlie Thurston as Clarin; guest actors Catia as Rosaura and Rudy Cabrera as Clotaldo; and MFA students Alfredo Antillon as Astolfo, Jihan Haddad as Estrella, and Andrew Gombas as Soldier. The production will play in the Dowling Theater from April 7 through May 8, 2022.
Wrapping up the season is Fairview, written by Brown University alum Jackie Sibblies Drury, who won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this play. What begins as a family comedy about Grandma’s birthday turns into a daring look at race and identity in the 21st century. Resident actor Mia Ellis will return to the Trinity Stage for the first time since 2019 as Beverly, joined by MFA student Jessica N. Smith as Keisha. Resident actors in the production include: Rachel Christopher as Jasmine, Rebecca Gibel as Bets, Mauro Hantman as Mack, Stephen Thorne as Jimbo, Rachael Warren as Suze, and Joe Wilson, Jr as Dayton. Fairview will run in the Chace Theater May 19 through June 19, 2022.
