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AUGUST WILSON (Playwright, April 27, 1945 - October 2, 2005). August Wilson authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. Mr. Wilson's plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr.. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson's works garnered many awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain's Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as seven New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, and Jitney. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson's early works included the one-act plays: The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005 Broadway named the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street "The August Wilson Theatre." Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.
DERRICK SANDERS (Director) is Founding Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company. His 2005 staging of the company's production of Seven Guitars garnered three Jeff Awards for Best Production, Direction and Ensemble. Other directing credits with Congo Square Theatre Company include Chadwick Boseman's Jeff nominated world premiere Deep Azure, and Javon Johnson's The House That Jack Built, and Ali, for which he received a Black Theatre Alliance Award for direction. Additional directing credits include Why Black Men Play Basketball (ETA Creative Arts Theatre Co.), The Pawn and Next Stop Ellipse (International Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa), A Cryin' Shame (Kuntu Rep.), Kiwi Black (2002 Theodore Ward Playwriting winner), and The Island. Sanders has appeared in several Congo Square productions including A Soldier's Play, Playboy of the West Indies and the company's inaugural production of Wilson's The Piano Lesson. Sanders recently served as Assistant Director on the Goodman Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Huntington Theatre Company and Broadway stagings of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean.
CHERISE BOOTHE (Tonya). Off-Broadway: The Blacks: A Clown Show (The Classical Theatre of Harlem), Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane Theatre), and Miss Julie (Studio Tisch). Regional: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Actors Theatre of Louisville/Berkshire Theatre Festival), Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis/Cincinnati Playhouse), The Old Settler (Westport Country Playhouse), and Insurrection: Holding History (Berkshire Theater Festival). Film/TV: The Inside Man (directed by Spike Lee), Then She Found Me (directed by and starring Helen Hunt), The Wool Cap (with Keke Palmer and William H. Macy), Everyone’s Hero (animation; voice of Rosetta Brewster), and All My Children. Ms. Boothe holds an M.F.A. from NYU. She gives an abundance of thanks to God, family and friends.
LYNDA GRAVÁTT (Ruby) Broadway: 45 Seconds From Broadway and King Hedley II. Off-Broadway: Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons); Intimate Apparel (Roundabout, AUDELCO); Crowns (Helen Hayes, AUDELCO); If Memory Serves, The Old Settler (Theatre World Award). Regional: Raisin In The Sun (Hartford Stage), The Member of the Wedding (Ford’s Theatre); Polk County (McCarter, Berkeley Rep); Intimate Apparel (Mark Taper); A Night in Tunisia (Alabama Shakespeare); Alley Theatre; Huntington Theatre; Crossroads; Geva; The Kenendy Center, among others. TV: "One Life to Live" (recurring), "As the World Turns," "Law & Order," "Trinity," "Sex and the City," "The Hoop Life," and "HACK." Film: Indie: All Fall Down. Proud Member of AEA.
STEPHEN McKINLEY HENDERSON (Elmore). Recently appeared as Red Carter in Seven Guitars at STC. Broadway: King Hedley II, revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Drowning Crow, Dracula the Musical. Off-Broadway: Jitney, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, revival of Zooman and the Sign. Regional: Bono in Fences (Denver Center), Azdak in Caucasian Chalk Circle (Studio Arena), Sizwe in Sizwe Bansi is Dead (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). Film: Everyday People (HBO Films), Waltzing Anna (ind.). Television: Recurring on "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: SVU."
RUSSELL HORNSBY (King Hedley II) Off-Broadway: King Hedley II, Jitney, Intimate Apparel. Regional: Gem of the Ocean (McCarter Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Fulton Opera), Joe Louis Blues (Tiffany Theatre), Six Degrees of Separation (Pentagon Theatre), Here Comes The Drums (The Complex Theatre). Films: Stuck, Forgiven, Something New, Get Rich or Die Tryin, Edmond, After the Sunset, Meet the Parents, Big Fat Liar. Television: "Lincoln Heights," "Playmakers," "Gideon's Crossing," "Haunted," "Keep the Faith, Baby," "Law & Order SVU," "Grey’s Anatomy," "Law & Order," "Girlfriends."
CURTIS McCLARIN (Mister) has appeared on Broadway in Drowning Crow and Bring in 'Da Noise Bring in 'Da Funk and Off-Broadway in The Exonerated, Tartuffe and East Texas Hot Links. Regional credits include Lobby Hero at the Pittsburgh Public Theater; Elmina's Kitchen, A Raisin in the Sun and Day of Absence at Baltimore Centerstage; Jitney at Crossroads Theatre; Ceremonies in Dark Old Men at Long Wharf Theatre; and Bailey's Café at Hartford Stage. Television credits include "Law & Order: SVU" & "Trial By Jury," "Soul Food," "Deadline," "Oz," "New York Undercover," "NYPD Blue" and the HBO movie, Path to War.
LOU MYERS (Stool Pigeon). Broadway: The Color Purple, The First Breeze of Summer, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson. Off-Broadway: King Hedley II, Fat Tuesday, Just a Little Bit Something, Foot Steps From Before, Julius Caesar, set in AFRICA. Film: The Fighting Temptations, Lakawanna Blues (HBO), Wedding Planner, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Bullworth, Friday After Next, Passions of Darkly Noon (Showtime), Cobb, Tin Cup, Volcano, Everything's Jake, The Stand In, All About You and Goodbye Lover. Television: Played, Mr. Gaines on "A Different World" (regular), "EVE," "NYPD Blue," "E.R," "Malcolm & Eddie," "Jet Jackson," "The Cosby Show," "Touched By An Angel," "Jag," "The Sentinel," "The Sinbad Show," "Living Single," "Thea" and "The Jamie Fox Show".
BRIAN TUCKER (Assistant Director). Broadway: The Color Purple (Assistant to Librettist). Regional: The St. James Infirmary (Playwright; Arena Stage Theatre, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Julliard School, Chicago Dramatists), The Great Defeat of Coltrane Grey (Playwright; New York Fringe Festival, Julliard School, Barrington Stage Company), Bathing Van Gough (Playwright; Julliard School), Sins of the Father (Playwright; Alliance Theatre Company; Perseverance Theater Company).
TODD KREIDLER (Associate Artist). Todd Kreidler is currently Associate Artistic Director of True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta where his play Jumbo Small received its first reading last spring. He began working with August Wilson during the 1999 world premiere of King Hedley II at Pittsburgh Public Theater and they worked together from then on in theaters around the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Baltimore's Center Stage and The Kennedy Center. Mr. Kreidler was the dramaturg of Gem of the Ocean and is currently the dramaturg of Radio Golf, opening on Broadway this spring. He also directed and developed the world premiere of Mr. Wilson's one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned, and worked with Mr. Wilson developing the screenplay adaptation of Fences. He spent three seasons at Pittsburgh Public Theater, where he directed Macbeth and Twelfth Night for their Young Company. Mr. Kreidler makes his home in Chicago with his wife, Erin Annarella.
CONSTANZA ROMERO (Associate Artist). Ms. Romero's Costume Design credits include: Broadway: Seven Guitars, The Piano Lesson and Gem of the Ocean (Tony nomination.) Regional theatres: Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Mark Taper Forum (2003 Ovation Award for Best Costume Design, Gem of the Ocean); The Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Crossroads Theatre Company; Intiman Theatre in Seattle; A Contemporary Theatre; Indiana Repertory Theatre; Yale Repertory Theatre; Milwaukee Repertory Theater; The Acting Company, New Mexico Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. Ms. Romero taught costume design at the University of Washington, as well as scenic design at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Additionally, Ms. Romero designed the artwork for both the Broadway productions and publications of The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars. Ms. Romero received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and currently resides in Seattle with Azula Carmen Wilson, her daughter with her late husband, August Wilson.
DAVID GALLO (Set Design). Broadway: Company, The Drowsy Chaperone (Tony Award), Gem of the Ocean (Tony Award), Hughie, Ma Rainey, King Hedley II, Epic Proportions, Thoroughly Modern Millie (London also), Dance of the Vampires, ...Charlie Brown, A View from the Bridge, Jackie (London also), The Lion in Winter. Off-Broadway: Evil Dead the Musical, Shout, Bunny Bunny, Jitney (London also), The Wild Party, Blue Man Group (Boston, Chicago, Vegas). Extensive European credits including Beauty and the Beast, The Wiz, 135th Ringling Bros Circus. Numerous awards including multiple Drama Desk, NAACP, Obie, American Theatre Wing, Outer Critics, Lortel, Eddy, Ovation, L.A. Critics. His work is in the Smithsonian permanent collection.
REGGIE RAY (Costume Design). Theatres: ATCo., Congo Square , The Ford's Theatre , The Guthrie Theater, The Goodman, The Kennedy Center, La Place D'Arts , Montréal, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Penumbra, The Public Theatre, St. Louis Black Rep., Studio Theatre, True Colors Theatre Company. Awards: 1 Helen Hayes and 4 nominations, Kevin Kline Award and the CEA Award. He is resident Designer and Instructor/ Howard University. Mr. Ray is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829/International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees [USA/IATSE]. Reggie dedicates this show to his mentor, Mike Malone.
THOM WEAVER (Lighting Design). In New York City: I (heart) Kant, Frankenstein, Evensong, Thrill Me, Medea in Jerusalem, Brian Dykstra: Cornered and Alone, Love According to Luc, Nine Parts of Desire (dir: Jack Hofsiss), Italian American Cantos, Heat Lightning, Harlem Duet, The Transparency of Val, Einstein's Dreams, Strangerhorse, 3 O'Clock in Brooklyn, The Amargo Tritico, That Damn Dykstra, Forsaking All Others, Rough Draft, Edward II, Edward III, A New Brain (dir: Baayork Lee), Jeffrey, The Normal Heart, Ghost Lovers. Regionally: Syracuse Stage, Yale Repertory Theatre, Light Opera of Oklahoma, Yale School of Drama, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre Company, and Berkshire Opera Company, as well as Paris and Jerusalem. Mr. Weaver was featured on the cover of Entertainment Design Magazine as a 2002 Tyro Talent. Education: Carnegie Mellon and Yale.
JILL BC DUBOFF (Sound Design). Broadway: The Constant Wife, The Good Body, Bill Maher: Victory..., Three Days of Rain (assoc), The Odd Couple (assoc) Off-Broadway includes; The Baltimore Waltz, The Late Henry Moss (Signature), Nixon's Nixon (MCC), The Treatment (Culture Project), It Goes Without Saying (Rattlestick), Jump/Cut, Birdy (WP) Memory House, Spatter Pattern, (Playwrights Horizons) What Then (Clubbed Thumb) Well (Public) Where Do We Live (Vineyard), Miss Julie (Cherry Lane) Regional: La Jolla Playhouse Berkeley Rep, The Alley, Cincinnati Playhouse, NYS&F, South Coast Rep, Humana, Williamstown, ATF. Television: "Comedy Central Presents: Slovin & Allen," "NBC Late Fridays" Drama Desk Awards and Hewes Award nominations.
STEPHEN NEVERSON (Composer). Stephen is a native New Yorker (Brooklyn). He is a versatile musician, DJ, composer, arranger, and educator. Stephen has written hip hop, pop, and classical arrangements for band, orchestra, and small ensembles. As a DJ he plays an eclectic blend of hip hop, jazz, house, soul, dub, afro-beat, and rare grooves. Currently he is a music teacher and band director in the NYC public school system. In 2005 he served as sound designer for the hip hop stage play Deep Azure and Manimals. Stephen holds a B.A. in Music and M.A. in Music Education from Brooklyn College Conservatory of music.
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