Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis once again puts on his director’s cap, this time at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, for a new production of Camp David.
In Camp David, writer Lawrence Wright chronicles a momentous fortnight in 1978 in which Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat came to an agreement that inspired international hope. Elijah Alexander plays the Egyptian President as Jordan Lage (Inherit the Wind, Glengarry Glen Ross) plays Prime Minister Begin. Joining them are Stephen Thorne as President Jimmy Carter, Rebecca Brooksher (LCT Dying City) as Rosalynn Carter, Sam Khazai as Mohammed Ibrahim Kamel, and Mark Zimmerman (Rocky, West Side Story) as Moshe Dayan.
As previously announced, the production, which began performances February 14, is scheduled to run through March 15 at the Neuhaus Theatre. The production features scenic design by Tony winner David Rockwell (She Loves Me), costume design by Tony winner Paul Tazewell (Hamilton), lighting design by Xavier Pierce, sound design by Darron L West (Peter and the Starcatcher), with casting by Heidi Griffiths and Jordan Thaler. Alley associate producer and casting director Brandon Weinbrenner will be the assistant director, with Johanna Gruenhut as the New York assistant director.
Wright’s play Cleo enjoyed its world-premiere at Alley. A staff writer at The New Yorker for over two decades, Wright has written extensively about the Middle East. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for his book The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. His bestselling book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief was nominated for a National Book Award and won the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award.