Previews are underway for Classic Stage Company's production of Alice Childress' Wine in the Wilderness, which marks the New York directorial debut of Tony winner LaChanze (The Color Purple), and Playbill has a first look at the production.
Olivia Washington (I'm a Virgo, Slave Play) and Grantham Coleman (The Great Society, Rustin) star as, respectively, Tommy and Bill, joined by Brooks Brantly (Sweat, Ghosts) as Sonny-man, Lakisha Michelle May (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Skeleton Crew) as Cynthia, and Milton Craig Nealy (Caroline, or Change; Once on This Island) as Oldtimer. Casting is by X Casting's Victor Vazquez.
Check out photos from the play, which will officially open March 24 for a limited engagement through April 13 at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater, in the gallery below.
Set against the backdrop of the 1964
Harlem riot, Wine in the Wilderness follows artist Bill Jameson, whose friends have just introduced him to a
model for the final piece of his triptych on Black womanhood. But this
woman, Tomorrow Marie, is no mere muse, and she’s about to give Bill
much more than he bargained for.
Director LaChanze starred in the 2021 Broadway premiere of the late Childress' Trouble in Mind, earning a Tony nomination for her performance. Her creative team for Wine in the Wilderness includes scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado (Trouble in Mind), costume designer Dede Ayite (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding), lighting designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Kimberly Akimbo), sound designer Bill Toles (Kowalski), and wig/hair designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding).
Jason Weixelman is the production stage manager.
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