Arena Stage welcomes the return of in-person audiences beginning September 3 with the launch of its 2021–2022 season, featuring many works that had been postponed from the 2019-2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The season kicks off in the Kreeger Theater with Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone, based on the real-life woman who became the first female to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues. Pam MacKinnon directs the production, which continues through October 3, and will be simulcast to the jumbotron in Nationals Park September 26.
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This production is presented in association with American Conservatory Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company, where the play received its world premiere in May 2019.
Reprising their roles from the A.C.T. run are JaBen Early, Kenn E. Head, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Sean-Maurice Lynch, and Jarrod Mims Smith, who are joined by Gilbert L. Bailey II, Aldo Billingslea, Santoya Fields, and Deimoni Brewington.
The creative team also includes choreographer Camille A. Brown, set designer Riccardo Hernández, costume designer Dede Ayite, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes, sound designer and composer Broken Chord, hair and wig designer Cookie Jordan, assistant choreographer Jay Stanton, stage manager Elisa Guthertz, assistant stage manager Kurt Hall, and production assistant Dayne Sundman.
Toni Stone is based on the novel Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone by Martha Ackmann and was commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company and Samantha Barrie.
