Playwrights Horizons recently announced casting for Familiar, which will feature Ito Aghayere, Joby Earle, Melanie Nicholls-King, Roslyn Ruff, Harold Surratt, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Joe Tippett, and Tony Award winner Tamara Tunie (Spring Awakening). Rebecca Taichman is set to direct.

Previews are scheduled to begin February 12 with an opening night set for March 3 and run through March 27 at Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theater. Familiar had its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre in February 2014.

The synopsis is billed as:

It’s winter in Minnesota and a Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter (Ruff), a first-generation American. But when the bride insists on observing a traditional African custom, it opens a deep rift in the household. Rowdy and affectionate, Familiar pitches tradition against assimilation, drawing a loving portrait of a family: the customs they keep, and the secrets they bury.

Gurira has made it known that she is very interested in getting stories about women of color out there for the world to see. “I want to see women of African descent shine,” Gurira told “Elle” magazine in a recent interview. “I want to see them [in roles] that are intense, that are full, that are complex—that allow them to exercise their chops. I want women of color who are preparing for auditions to stop asking, ‘Where are the monologues? Where are my stories?'”

Tickets to Familiar aren’t yet on sale, but information regarding tickets and the show can be found at the official website , by phone at (212) 279-4200, or by visiting Ticket Central Box Office at 416 West 42nd St., Manhattan.

The post Danai Gurira’s Familiar Announces Casting appeared first on Broadway Black.

August Wilson’s work is getting a lot of much-deserved love and attention this upcoming theatre season. Actors Theatre of Louisville, one of the United States’ most prominent Tony-Award winning regional theatres, will be producing Seven Guitars, directed by accomplished theatre artist, Colman Domingo. Seven Guitars is one of the plays in Wilson’s well-known Century Cycle. It follows the story of blues musician Floyd Barton as he tries both to gather the pieces of his life he left behind as well as navigate the world as a Black man in 1940s Philadelphia.

Domingo leads a powerhouse cast that includes Joniece Abbott-Pratt (The Good Negro at the Public Theater), Joaquina Kalukango (Holler If Ya Hear Me, Godspell), Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), J. Alphonse Nicholson (Autumn’s Harvest at Lincoln Center), Harold Surratt (Impressionist, Serious Money), Sharon Washington (The Scottsboro Boys) and Bowman Wright. Seven Guitars features original music and composition by Jon Spurney.

#Repost @j_fonz with @repostapp.
・・・
As we finish our last note session with our fearless, brilliant director @kingofbingo, we take a moment to bless the stage and invite our ancestors to join us. I’m so blessed to share this powerful story given to us by August Wilson with some of the most talented artist I know. @geecheegal @forrestmcclendon @jabbottpratt @joaquinakalukango @bowmanwright #HaroldSurratt All of you are true Queens and Kings of your craft. Thank you for sharing your gifts and allowing me to be apart of your family. Much love to everyone. Happy Opening! xoxo #lifeofanartist #blessed #steadygrind #family #bite #callmeFloyd @actorstheatre

A photo posted by Actors Theatre of Louisville (@actorstheatre) on Sep 3, 2015 at 12:14pm PDT

#Repost @kingofbingo with @repostapp. ・・・ The women of Seven Guitars at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Each one thrills. I am honored and blessed with each one. Happy Opening Night. @geecheegal @jabbottpratt @joaquinakalukango @actorstheatre A photo posted by Sharon Washington (@geecheegal) on Sep 3, 2015 at 7:20am PDT

#Repost @kingofbingo with @repostapp. ・・・ The men of Seven Guitars at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Happy Opening Night. I think you make Mr. Wilson proud. I know I am. So much love. @actorstheatre @forrestmcclendon @j_fonz @bowmanwright #haroldsurratte

A photo posted by Sharon Washington (@geecheegal) on Sep 3, 2015 at 7:18am PDT

Missing my brother-director-collaborator-friend. The multi-talented, multi-hyphenate @kingofbingo. We’ll have to play without him for the next two weeks! #SevenGuitars #AugustWilson @actorstheatre #classic #Repost @aktanov_domingo with @repostapp. ・・・ This man… So grateful to be inspired by his brilliance. He is KILLING it as a director of August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars” #Louisville #actorstheatre #multifaceted #polyglot A photo posted by Sharon Washington (@geecheegal) on Sep 7, 2015 at 6:24am PDT

Domingo, whose extensive resume includes Academy-Award nominated film, Selma, as Reverend Ralph David Abernathy and starring on AMC’s hit television series, Fear The Walking Dead, is also an accomplished playwright. Domingo’s play, A Boy and His Soul, has been performed for both British and Australian audiences to rave reviews. Additionally, his play Wild with Happy made its debut at the Public Theater. When he is not writing, gracing the stage or screen, or directing, Domingo is on the Board of Directors of the Vineyard Theater in New York and has taught in many theatres around the country, including UNC Chapel Hill, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and University of Wisconsin.

Here at Broadway Black, we know that Domingo will bring a refreshing view to this classic entry in African-American theatre. To receive more information about Seven Guitars, as well as ways to purchase tickets, visit the Actors Theatre of Louisville website.

Sound off in the comments with your thoughts about the focus on August Wilson’s plays and whether the Century Cycle continues to remain relevant.

The post Colman Domingo Leads Powerhouse Cast of Seven Guitars at Actors Theatre appeared first on Broadway Black.